The Munich District Court I (Landgericht München I) delivered judgment on 31 July 2026 in case no. 42 O 763/25, brought by GEMA, the German collecting society representing composers, lyricists, and music publishers, against Suno AI, the U.S.-based AI music generation service. The court awarded GEMA's claims for injunctive relief, revenue disclosure, and a declaratory order confirming entitlement to damages. The ruling is a first-instance judgment subject to appeal before the Munich Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht München).
The court held that Suno's model training involved reproduction of GEMA-represented works within the meaning of Section 16 of the German Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz). Making AI-generated outputs available to users constitutes a separate act of public communication under Section 19a UrhG. The Section 44b text and data mining exception does not cover commercial AI music generation where the rights holder has not opted in to permit that use. EU AI Act compliance is not a defence to copyright infringement claims.
The ruling applies to AI music generation services that train on or distribute content in Germany, or make outputs accessible to German users, regardless of where training servers are located. Copyright liability falls on the AI system provider, not the end user. Music publishers, collecting societies, and composers whose catalogues were used for AI training now have a confirmed judicial basis for infringement claims in German courts. AI companies distributing music generation tools in Europe need to assess licensing requirements across GEMA's administered catalogue.
The ruling is a first-instance decision and its territorial scope may be tested on appeal. The court applied German law to reproductions on servers located in Germany; a different outcome may arise in jurisdictions with broader text and data mining exceptions. A prior GEMA v. OpenAI ruling in 2025 established the earlier German precedent on training liability; this judgment extends that doctrine to the separate act of distributing AI music outputs. Suno has not publicly confirmed whether it will appeal.
Licentium advises on AI intellectual property compliance, training-data licensing review, and can refer clients to specialist counsel in German and EU copyright law. Work we undertake includes AI training data licensing assessment, collecting society rights analysis, music catalogue clearance strategy, and cross-border IP compliance for AI products.