Court Ruling on ChatGPT’s Use of Song Lyrics
A Munich court has ruled that large language models like ChatGPT violate German copyright laws when they use song lyrics in their answers without paying royalties. Judge Elke Schwager of the Munich Regional Court stated that OpenAI, the US company that owns ChatGPT, would be charged damages for the unauthorized use, although the amount was not specified.
Background of the Case
The lawsuit was filed by the German association GEMA, which works to defend copyrights. GEMA used nine specific songs as examples for the case, including titles such as “Männer” by Herbert Grönemeyer and “Atemlos”, originally by Kristina Bach and more recently popularized by Helene Fischer. The case was only about German law and custom, but one of GEMA’s lawyers claimed that the ruling would be groundbreaking for the whole of Europe because the applicable rules were "harmonized."
Implications of the Ruling
The German Association of Journalists points out that the ruling has broader implications, as several media organizations had questioned the legality of the training processes of large language models, with journalism being among the sources used. The chairman of a leading journalists’ union described the ruling as "a partial victory for copyrights" and argued that journalists demanding compensation from companies like OpenAI now have an improved legal position.
OpenAI’s Response
OpenAI responded to the ruling, stating that they disagree with it and are considering further steps. The company added that it respects intellectual property rights and is in negotiations with relevant organizations around the world. During the trial, OpenAI argued that ChatGPT did not store or copy specific training data, but rather reflected in its parameters what it had learned in its entire training data set.
Court’s Decision
The court concluded that the accidental creation of lyrics that either exactly or largely matched the song lyrics was not plausible. The court wrote in a press release that "in view of the complexity and length of the lyrics, a coincidence can be ruled out as the reason for the reproduction of the lyrics." The verdict can be appealed, and OpenAI is expected to negotiate with companies like GEMA over appropriate licensing fees.
