OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has been found to have violated Germany's copyright law after using several songs by famous musician Herbert Groenemeyer and other artists as part of training their AI model.
According to the Munich court, ChatGPT used lyrics from nine songs, including Groenemeyer's popular songs “Maenner” and “Bochum.” As a result, judge Elke Schwager ordered OpenAI to pay damages. The exact amount was not disclosed, but it is estimated to be in the millions of pesos.
The case was filed by GEMA, the association of musicians, writers and publishers in Germany. According to their legal adviser Kai Welp, they hope this will be the start of a conversation about how to properly pay song rights holders.
OpenAI insists that it does not directly store or copy the lyrics, but only learns based on the total data used in training. But according to the court, the AI's very ability to remember and reproduce the lyrics is a clear violation of copyright.
GEMA CEO Tobias Holzmueller said, “The internet is not a store where you can just take what you want. Human work must be respected.” OpenAI may appeal the decision, but said it is considering its next steps.
