German court rules AI music firm Suno broke copyright rules
The ruling orders Suno to disclose illicit revenue and sets up damages in a landmark test of how AI music tools are trained.
- On Friday, July 31, 2026, The Munich Regional Court ruled that Suno violated copyrights by processing GEMA-represented music without permission, ordering the firm to disclose illicit revenue and pay damages yet to be quantified.
- Evidence presented in court showed Suno's system memorized and reproduced six GEMA-represented tracks, including 'Forever Young' and 'Daddy Cool,' from a model trained on more than 2 million scraped songs.
- More than 1,800 artists are supporting class-action lawsuits against Suno and Rival Udio; Massachusetts-based Suno, valued at $5.4 billion, now faces litigation alongside Sony's separate suit against Udio over 30,000 songs.
- Under German law, the first-instance judgment is enforceable while an appeal is pending, allowing GEMA to pursue injunctions against Suno's European operations immediately without waiting years for appeals to conclude.
- The Munich-based regional court previously ruled OpenAI's ChatGPT infringed copyrights, establishing the city as a litigation hub, while Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group pursue settlements—signaling divergent industry strategies.
44 Articles
44 Articles
Convicted by a court in Munich for violation of copyright: he trained his models to create music using that produced by others and protected by copyright
The GEMA wins against AI provider Suno: The Munich district court sees a violation of copyright. What the verdict means for music and AI.
The AI start-up Suno is not allowed to use compositions without a licensing deal with their authors, the Munich Regional Court judges. The GEMA chief speaks of a fundamental judgment. However, an end to the dispute is not yet in sight.
AI company Suno must pay copyright fees for the use of existing songs used to create 'new' tracks using artificial intelligence. That is the ruling of a German court. Suno is currently not paying for the use of the songs. With this ruling by the court in Munich, the German copyright organization GEMA achieves a resounding victory over the American company Suno. Suno users can have a song created by entering an online command (prompt) regarding…
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