Unlicensed lyrics lawsuit against ChatGPT: "They violated copyrights"

A court in Germany has ruled that the unlicensed use of song lyrics by artificial intelligence applications is a violation of German copyright law.

German copyright organization GEMA filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the developer of the US artificial intelligence model ChatGPT, in the Munich Regional Court, accusing the company of violating artists' copyrights.

The court also ruled that OpenAI had violated the copyrights of nine popular songs, ruling that ChatGPT could not use the lyrics of GEMA-registered artists unless it signed a license agreement with GEMA. The court also ruled that OpenAI was liable for any damages resulting from the copyright infringement.

The court banned OpenAI from storing the texts and using them in its models, but rejected both sides' requests to refer the case to the European Court of Justice.

"ADDITIONAL COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS"

Notably, the Munich Regional Court largely accepted GEMA's argument that ChatGPT's automatic use of lyrics constituted unauthorized reproduction and distribution.

While ChatGPT is trained using song lyrics, GEMA considers this an unauthorized copying of lyrics under copyright law. GEMA also argues that ChatGPT's generation of lyrics constitutes additional copyright infringement.

GEMA did not object to the use of the lyrics and demanded a licensing fee for the benefit of copyright holders, while OpenAI rejected this accusation.

MORE LAWSUITS MAY BE FILED

The Munich Regional Court's decision is expected to be appealed to a higher court. Experts believe that if the case ultimately follows suit, it could have an impact far beyond the lyrics, leading to further litigation.

The final decision will form the basis for all other works used for Generative AI, including literature, journalistic texts, music, visual arts, photography, or other forms of analysis.