What happened

On July 31, the Munich Regional Court (42nd Chamber) ruled in favor of GEMA, the German collecting society, in its case against AI music company Suno. GEMA had argued that Suno trained its systems on works from GEMA’s repertoire without licenses, and that it stored and reproduced those works in Europe in violation of copyright law.

The court found that Suno breached both US and German copyright legislation by training on the works and reproducing them in Europe, according to Music Week’s report. The amount of damages is to be determined separately.

The works and the evidence

The case involved a small set of well-known German-market songs. Reporting names Alphaville’s “Forever Young” and “Big in Japan,” Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5,” Helene Fischer’s “Atemlos durch die Nacht,” and Boney M.’s “Daddy Cool” and “Rasputin.” According to the report, the court confirmed that Suno’s system stores and generates content matching the cited works in melody, harmony and rhythm.

Suno’s response

Suno said it disagrees with the ruling, which it says “rests on a fundamental mischaracterisation of how Suno’s technology works.” The company said it is evaluating all available options, including an appeal. The judgment is not final.

Why it matters

The notable part is geography. The training GEMA complained about took place in the United States, yet a court in Germany applied both countries’ copyright law to it. Music Week describes this as the first European court ruling on AI training conducted in the US.

For songwriters and publishers whose songs are administered by a European society, that suggests a route to challenge AI training that happened elsewhere, if the reasoning survives appeal. For AI companies, it raises the question of whether training in one country insulates a model from claims in another.

The bigger picture

Suno is fighting on several fronts. In the US, Universal Music Group and Sony Music remain plaintiffs against the company, while Warner Music Group and BMG have signed licensing deals with it. The German ruling adds a separate track, brought by a collecting society rather than a record label.

AnalysisThe Munich decision and the US label cases turn on different legal systems. A US court applying fair use will ask different questions from a German court applying its own copyright rules. A win in one country doesn’t decide the other. What the Munich ruling does is give rights holders in Europe something concrete to point to, and it adds pressure on AI companies to license rather than litigate. Whether it holds depends on the appeal.

What happens next

  • Suno has said it is evaluating all options, including an appeal.
  • Damages will be set separately, so the financial consequence is still open.
  • The judgment is not final, so the reasoning could change.