A German court ruled that OpenAI’s ChatGPT violated the nation’s copyright laws by training its language models on licensed musical work without permission, multiple news outlets, including The Guardian reported.  

The decision came from a lawsuit that GEMA, the society that handles music rights in Germany, filed last November against OpenAI. The company was ordered to pay an undisclosed amount of damages to GEMA, but said it disagreed with the ruling and is “considering next steps.” GEMA, meanwhile, regarded this as the “first landmark AI ruling in Europe.”  

“Today, we have set a precedent that protects and clarifies the rights of authors: even operators of AI tools such as ChatGPT must comply with copyright law,” GEMA chief executive Tobias Holzmüller said, as The Guardian reported. “Today, we have successfully defended the livelihoods of music creators.” 

OpenAI is being sued by other creatives and media groups over the same issue.