GEMA, Germany’s performing rights organisation (PRO), has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI in Munich, accusing the company of using song lyrics it represents without permission. This marks the first such lawsuit by a PRO and the first to focus exclusively on song lyrics, not recordings. GEMA claims OpenAI trained its AI models on these lyrics, violating the rights to make the lyrics available and reproduce them.

Unlike U.S. PROs, which don’t control mechanical rights, GEMA holds the rights to certain song lyrics and is asserting that OpenAI’s use of them for training purposes, as well as their output in response to prompts, infringes these rights. European copyright law, unlike the U.S. system, doesn’t allow for “fair use” but provides limited exceptions, such as text and data mining, unless rights-holders opt out. GEMA has opted out for all songs it licenses, making this lawsuit relevant for the broader European context.

This case highlights growing concerns about AI’s impact on intellectual property. GEMA CEO Tobias Holzmüller stated that generative AI systems must obtain licenses to use song lyrics, and GEMA is ready to take legal action against unauthorised use. The lawsuit follows GEMA’s proposal for a licensing model to fairly compensate songwriters and publishers when their works are used in AI training.

As OpenAI operates in Germany and makes content available there, it will need to comply with German copyright laws, which offer more clarity than the often uncertain U.S. fair use doctrine. While European law limits the damages available to rights-holders, GEMA’s move is part of a broader push to protect songwriters’ rights amid the rise of AI technologies.