GEMA v Suno: Copyright Infringement by an AI Music Generator
The Munich Regional Court I held that protected musical works had been reproduced in the AI model and in generated outputs. Offering the music generator could also constitute communication to the public. The text and data mining exception did not cover the incorporation of protected works into the model parameters. The court also rejected fair use for training activities carried out in the United States.
- Court
- LG München I
- Decision date
- July 31, 2026
- Case number
- 42 O 763/25
- Decision type
- Judgment
- Jurisdictions
- European Union · Germany
Subject Matter of the Decision
GEMA brought claims for injunctive relief, information and damages against the US-based provider of the AI music generator Suno over the use of copyright-protected musical works. The proceedings concerned, among others, the compositions “Atemlos durch die Nacht”, “Daddy Cool”, “Rasputin”, “Big in Japan”, “Forever Young” and the refrain of “Mambo No. 5”.
Decision
The Munich Regional Court I largely upheld GEMA’s claims. According to the Court, protected musical works may be memorised in the parameters of an AI model in such a way that this constitutes a reproduction within the meaning of Section 16 of the German Copyright Act. A directly perceptible or identical storage of the work is not required.
The Court held that the text and data mining exception under Section 44b of the German Copyright Act may cover certain preparatory reproductions made when compiling a training corpus. It does not, however, cover the incorporation of protected elements of a work into the parameters of the completed model. Moreover, the required lawful access was absent where technical protection measures preventing downloads from YouTube had been circumvented.
The Court also considered the offering of the music generator to constitute communication to the public of the works memorised in the model. Outputs generated in response to simple and open-ended prompts were attributable to the provider rather than solely to its users. Consequently, the Court rejected the application of the hosting exemption under Article 6 of the Digital Services Act.
Significance
The decision is among the first European judgments to address AI training, memorisation, model parameters and copyright-infringing musical outputs in a comprehensive manner. With regard to training activities carried out in the United States, the Court applied US copyright law and rejected Suno’s fair use defence.
Procedural Status
An appeal is pending before the Munich Higher Regional Court under case number 6 U 2314/26 e.