A recent court ruling in Germany offers some encouragement for producers concerned about artificial intelligence platforms using their music to train AI models.
The Munich Regional Court ruled in favour of German copyright agency GEMA in its case against US-based AI music platform Suno, finding that the latter infringed copyright by using protected musical works without authorisation.
As a result of the ruling, AI platforms are forbidden from using copyrighted songs to train their models or generate music without the permission of rights holders, marking a significant legal victory for the European music industry.
“It is finally time for AI actors to come to the negotiating table and agree on the use of music with creators,” commented GEMA CEO Tobias Holzmüller. “Generative AI business models are based on human creativity. Therefore, proper compensation, transparency and respect for creators are essential, even in the age of AI.”
According to the judgment, copyrighted musical works were incorporated into Suno’s AI model in a reproducible form, meaning the system retained and copied protected works rather than merely learning from them. The court also found that AI-generated outputs reproducing protected music constituted copyright infringement.
The ruling also rejected Suno’s argument that AI models trained in the United States could rely on US ‘fair use’ principles when operating in Germany, with the court decreeing that AI services offered within the European Union must comply with EU copyright law regardless of where model training took place.
The court also determined that Suno, rather than its users, was responsible for the copyright infringements.
As per the ruling, Suno has been ordered to stop exploiting copyrighted musical works without permission, pay damages and provide GEMA with information about revenue generated through the infringing activities. The company retains the right to appeal.
The decision is regarded as one of the most significant European rulings on the relationship between copyright and generative AI, and follows on from a previous legal victory for GEMA against OpenAI concerning the unauthorised use of song lyrics.
As recent studies noted, up to 25% to 30% of music creators’ income could be at risk if unauthorised AI-generated music replaces human-made music without compensation to the creators.
Teosto, Finland’s music copyright organisation, welcomed the ruling, with CEO Risto Salminen saying that the court’s ruling sends a ‘strong message’ to both technology players and the European creative industry.
“The ruling confirms the fundamental fact that music is not free raw material for artificial intelligence services,” he said. “The development of artificial intelligence can also be an opportunity for the music industry, but only when it is built on rules that respect the rights of creators.” Read more here and here.
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