Munich court finds Suno liable for copyright infringement

A Munich court has ruled that US AI music company Suno infringed copyrights and must disclose revenue linked to the violations. The decision could increase pressure on AI music providers to negotiate licences with rights holders.

Elizabeth Grenier reports for Deutsche Welle that the Munich Regional Court has also ordered Suno to pay damages, although the amount has not yet been set. Suno disputes the ruling and says it is considering its legal options, including an appeal.

GEMA, Germany’s music collecting society, brought the case in January 2025. It argues that Suno used protected music to train its model without licences or payment. GEMA represents more than 95,000 composers, songwriters and music publishers in Germany, as well as more than 2 million rights holders internationally.

The case focused especially on the music generated by Suno’s service. In court, GEMA entered lyrics, titles and requested styles for songs in its repertoire, including “Forever Young,” “Mambo No. 5” and “Daddy Cool.” It did not provide musical notation or instructions for melody, rhythm, harmony or arrangement. According to the report, the resulting tracks closely resembled the original songs.

Suno acknowledges that the works at the center of the dispute were among the material used to train its model. AI companies often argue that training is permitted under US fair use principles or the EU’s text and data mining exception. Courts and rights holders continue to dispute how those rules apply to generative AI.

The ruling follows a separate GEMA victory against OpenAI at the same court over song lyrics reproduced by ChatGPT. That earlier decision is under appeal. The Suno case is significant because it addresses entire musical works and could shape future licensing discussions for AI-generated music.