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Fate for copyrights: GEMA takes OpenAI to court!
Judgment expected in the copyright dispute between GEMA and OpenAI on November 11th, 2025 in Munich. Basic questions about AI use.
Fate for copyrights: GEMA takes OpenAI to court!
In a sensational legal dispute between the music rights company GEMA and OpenAI, a decision is expected today, November 11, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. in the Munich Regional Court. This involves the use of copyrighted song lyrics that were used to train the AI ChatGPT. Affected song lyrics come from the hits “Atemlos”, “Männer”, “Über den Wolken” and “In der Weihnachtsbäckerei”, among others.
GEMA filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in November 2024. According to their statement, the AI is said to have reproduced protected texts from German authors without compensation. During tests by GEMA it was found that ChatGPT was willing to provide original song lyrics. A settlement between the two parties collapsed last September and now everyone is eagerly awaiting the verdict.
Copyright conflict
The key question in this dispute is: Did OpenAI memorize the texts or merely reflect what was learned during training? The presiding judge Elke Schwager has already indicated that she might be more likely to follow GEMA's arguments. While GEMA accuses OpenAI of having saved and reproduced the texts, OpenAI emphasizes that the output of the texts was changed and not reproduced one-to-one.
In recent weeks, the discussion about copyright in the digital world has increasingly made headlines. Expert Silke von Lewinski highlights how crucial this decision could be for rights holders and the future remuneration of artists. A ruling could not only influence the relationship between AI providers and rights holders, but also have fundamental implications for rights in literature, art and photography.
GEMA is planning to reform its remuneration models in the medium term to ensure that AI providers comply with licensing requirements. The expectation is that the Munich Regional Court may refer the case to the European Court of Justice. This could have long-lasting consequences for the use of copyrighted material in the context of artificial intelligence.
What could the verdict mean?
The verdict that comes down today could result in an appeal and is therefore by no means the final end of the proceedings. So it remains to be seen whether the court has decided or whether it will transfer the case to a higher authority within the EU.
The discussion about copyrights and artificial intelligence is a hot topic that also affects other players such as SunoAI. These have also been the target of GEMA lawsuits since January 2025 due to similar allegations. It is clear that the dispute over the rights to texts and their use in the digital world will continue to play a key role.
Today's ruling could have far-reaching consequences for the industry and strengthen the negotiating position of rights holders in a rapidly changing media landscape. We will follow developments closely and report.
For more information about the background to the legal dispute, take a look at NP-Coburg, where the details of the lawsuit were compiled: NP Coburg and NDR also published interesting details about the dispute: NDR.