GEMA, Germany's music rights society, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI in the Munich Regional Court, marking the first such legal action by a collecting society against an AI provider worldwide.

The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI's ChatGPT was trained on protected song lyrics from GEMA's 95,000 members without proper authorization. GEMA claims ChatGPT reproduces these lyrics when responding to user prompts, constituting copyright infringement.

This legal action follows GEMA's recent introduction of its "AI Charter," which outlines 10 ethical and legal principles for generative AI use, and their proposal for an AI royalties model.

Key points of the lawsuit:

• Filed against OpenAI LLC (U.S.) and OpenAI Ireland Ltd.
• Submitted to Munich Regional Court
• Aims to challenge AI providers' claims that training and content generation can occur without rights holders' authorization
• Intended to spark public discussion on AI copyright issues

OpenAI's response indicates they are reviewing the allegations while maintaining ongoing discussions with creators and trade organizations. A spokesperson stated: "We respect the rights of creators and content owners, and believe they should benefit from AI technology."

The case's outcome could significantly impact AI regulation in Europe, particularly as the EU's AI Act takes effect. GEMA has indicated it may pursue similar legal action against other AI providers based on this test case's results.

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