German Court Rules ChatGPT Violated Copyright Law with Song Lyrics

A German court has ruled that OpenAI’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT, violated copyright law by using song lyrics from well-known musicians to train its language models, a decision that could have wide-ranging consequences for how artificial intelligence systems handle creative works. The Munich regional court sided with Germany’s music rights society GEMA, which represents around 100,000 composers, lyricists, and music publishers, finding that OpenAI’s models had ingested protected material without authorization. The lawsuit, filed in November 2024, centered on nine famous German songs, including Herbert Grönemeyer’s 1984 hit “Männer” and “Bochum,” as well as Helene Fischer’s “Atemlos Durch die Nacht,” an anthem during the 2014 World Cup (The Guardian).

Presiding judge Elke Schwager ordered OpenAI to pay undisclosed damages for using copyrighted material in its AI training datasets (Yahoo News). The ruling marks one of Europe’s first major legal tests of how copyright applies to artificial intelligence and could set a precedent for similar cases across the continent. GEMA’s legal adviser Kai Welp said the decision opened the door for discussions with OpenAI about compensation for rights holders, emphasizing that artists deserve payment when their works are used to train generative AI models. GEMA’s chief executive Tobias Holzmüller hailed the ruling as a “landmark” for copyright protection in the digital age, asserting that “the internet is not a self-service store and human creative achievements are not free templates” (The Guardian).

GEMA’s chief executive Tobias Holzmüller

OpenAI defended its methods by arguing that its language models do not store or copy specific works but instead learn statistical patterns from massive datasets. The company further claimed that any generated text from ChatGPT was produced only in response to user prompts, suggesting that users, not OpenAI, should bear responsibility for potential copyright violations. However, the court rejected these arguments, determining that both the memorization of lyrics within the model and their reproduction in chatbot outputs constitute infringements of copyright exploitation rights (Times of India).

The court’s statement indicated that memorization, where AI systems retain and regurgitate elements from their training data, could itself breach copyright law, a point that may have significant implications for AI companies worldwide. OpenAI said it “disagrees with the ruling” and is “considering next steps,” stressing that the decision affects only a limited set of lyrics and “does not impact the millions of people, businesses, and developers in Germany that use our technology every day” (Yahoo News).

The Munich decision adds to a growing global debate over how generative AI interacts with creative property. Earlier this year, Bollywood music labels petitioned an Indian court to join a similar lawsuit against OpenAI for alleged unauthorized use of recordings in model training, reflecting mounting international pressure from artists and rights groups (Yahoo News). In Germany, the case’s outcome was celebrated by GEMA and other creative industry representatives as a milestone in their efforts to safeguard artistic ownership. The Berlin-based law firm Raue, representing GEMA, said the decision “sends a clear signal to the global tech industry” that creators’ rights must be respected and provides long-awaited legal certainty for European artists (The Guardian).

While OpenAI explores an appeal, the ruling has already begun reshaping the conversation around AI’s legal and ethical responsibilities. It underscores that the rapid advancement of machine learning cannot come at the expense of creative integrity. The court’s stance suggests that even companies pioneering transformative technologies must respect established copyright principles, affirming that innovation and artistic rights can, and must, coexist.

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Works Cited

The Guardian. “ChatGPT Violated Copyright Law by ‘Learning’ from Song Lyrics, German Court Rules.” The Guardian, 11 Nov. 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/11/chatgpt-violated-copyright-laws-german-court-rules.

Poltz, Jörn, and Friederike Heine. “OpenAI Used Song Lyrics in Violation of Copyright Laws, German Court Says.” Yahoo News, 11 Nov. 2025, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/german-court-sides-plaintiff-copyright-092413639.html.

Times of India. “OpenAI Used Lyrics in Violation of Copyright Laws, German Court.” The Times of India, 11 Nov. 2025, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/openai-used-lyrics-in-violation-of-copyright-laws-german-court/articleshow/125263120.cms.

Colborne, Femke, and Jan Mueller. “German Court Rules Against OpenAI in Copyright Case.” The Japan Times, 12 Nov. 2025, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/11/12/tech/germany-openai-copyright-case/.

“Flag of Germany.” RJ Travel Agency, 2025, https://www.rjtravelagency.com/flag-of-germany/.

“Dr. Tobias Holzmüller Named CEO at GEMA.” CelebrityAccess, 29 June 2023, https://celebrityaccess.com/2023/06/29/dr-tobias-holzmuller-named-ceo-at-gema/.