German performance rights organisation GEMA has secured a court victory in its legal dispute with US AI music platform Suno.
The Munich Regional Court has ruled that by training its AI systems on songs from GEMA’s repertoire in the USA, and also by storing and reproducing them in Europe, Suno is in breach of both US and German copyright legislation.
GEMA had made the legal case that both the exploitation and reproduction of musical works from the GEMA repertoire requires a licence, and that AI service providers must pay the creators appropriate remuneration.
In Germany, GEMA represents the copyright interests of more than 100,000 members (composers, lyricists and music publishers), as well as over two million owners of intellectual property rights worldwide.
According to the verdict, Suno will have to pay damages that have yet to be determined.
Suno has also faced legal action in the US from major music companies.
The ruling marks GEMA’s second legal victory in proceedings against providers of AI tools and services. In November 2025, the Regional Court also ruled in GEMA’s favour in a lawsuit brought against ChatGPT operator OpenAI. OpenAI has lodged an appeal against the ruling with the Munich Higher Regional Court.
GEMA filed the case against Suno with the Munich Regional Court on January 21, 2025, aiming to assert the right of its members to be remunerated for the use of their works. The collection society said Suno had not responded to repeated requests to license the works concerned.
GEMA sued over Suno’s use of music including Forever Young and Big In Japan (Alphaville), Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…) (Lou Bega), Atemlos Durch Die Nacht (Helene Fischer) and Daddy Cool and Rasputin (Boney M).
“Prior to the lawsuit, Suno admitted that the company had trained its systems on these and other GEMA works without paying licence fees, but has disputed the obligation to pay such fees,” said a statement from GEMA.
The Munich Regional Court’s 42nd Chamber rejected this argument.
GEMA was also able to show that the system stores and generates content that in terms of melody, harmony and rhythm largely matches the works cited in the claim. The court agreed with GEMA’s assertion that Suno should be obliged to pay licence fees for the systematic use of GEMA’s repertoire and its commercial exploitation.
Suno said that it disagreed with the ruling and would evaluate all available options, including an appeal.
"We built Suno around a core belief: to empower everyone to experience the joy of making music," said a Suno spokesperson. "Our tools give people the ability to create new songs, whether they are top artists, product developers, songwriters using our tools in their workflows or everyday music fans. From the beginning, we trained our models to create new songs, not reproduce existing ones, and built protections into our platform. We disagree with today’s ruling – which rests on a fundamental mischaracterisation of how Suno’s technology works, how it is used and how US law applies – and are evaluating all available options, including an appeal.”
This is the first time that a European court has ruled on the training of AI systems in the US. The Regional Court confirmed that even under US copyright law, AI service providers are required to obtain appropriate licences from GEMA.
The court’s verdict has significantly strengthened Europe’s position as a cultural centre
Dr Tobias Holzmüller
Dr Tobias Holzmüller, CEO of GEMA, said: “All generative AI is based on human creativity; artificial intelligence is nothing without humans. Today, the Chamber made one thing crystal clear: AI models built on stolen intellectual property have no protection under the law. AI service providers must pay for licences rather than helping themselves to our members’ works free of charge. Today, the court’s verdict has significantly strengthened Europe’s position as a cultural centre. When AI service providers operate their systems in Europe, claims can be brought against them in European courts. This is vital for proper enforcement of the law.”
Dr Kai Welp, general counsel for GEMA, added: “It’s astonishing that AI systems are clearly storing significant quantities of almost complete works, something we were able to substantiate in the course of our proceedings. What’s more, recent academic literature suggests that this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s also very encouraging to see the court take a stance on the legal position in the USA, so that we were able to bring our legal action in Munich regardless of where the actual AI training took place.
“For creators, this is a truly significant milestone. However, to assert our rights effectively and prevent AI service providers from relocating to countries where copyright is not respected, we also need the support of European lawmakers.”
GEMA has won an important victory for music, a huge thanks to them for bringing this case
Roberto Neri
Dr Ralf Weigand, chairman of GEMA’s supervisory board, said: “Today is a landmark day for music creators around the world. This ruling sends a powerful international message: creativity has value, and creators’ rights must be respected in the age of artificial intelligence. Through this decision, GEMA has set an important precedent not only for its more than 100,000 members, but for creators worldwide. The fact that we can now enforce our rights in countries including the United States gives creators hope and confidence at a time of profound technological transformation.”
The ruling has been welcomed by the Ivors Academy.
Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, said: “Where music is used to make commercial output, it obviously has to be legally licensed. Congratulations to GEMA for putting their money and resources into this important victory for songwriters and composers. Proof, were it needed, that on this side of the Atlantic we have our own rules and our own copyright law. Waiting for the USA to produce flawed precedents within their increasingly dubious legal framework is not the path. Collection societies everywhere take note.”
Roberto Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, said: “Let’s be very clear, AI companies don’t get to use songwriters’ or composers’ work without permission. New technology doesn’t make copyright optional. GEMA has won an important victory for music, a huge thanks to them for bringing this case. Now other Collective Management Organisations and courts around the world must continue to uphold the fundamental principle that copyright law must be protected, respected and strengthened.”
PHOTO: (Omer Taha Ceti/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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