A German court has issued a landmark ruling in the ongoing debate surrounding artificial intelligence and copyright. AI music platform Suno has lost a lawsuit against German collecting society GEMA, which accused the company of using copyrighted music without permission to train its AI model. The ruling could have major implications for how AI companies across Europe use music catalogues.
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What is Suno?
Suno is an AI platform that allows users to generate complete songs within seconds using nothing more than a text prompt. The service creates not only instrumental music, but also vocals, lyrics and full arrangements across a wide range of genres. Over the past few years, Suno has become one of the world’s most popular AI music platforms and is used by both hobbyists and professional producers to quickly develop musical ideas.
However, its rapid rise has also sparked criticism. Music publishers, artists and copyright organisations have questioned what material the AI was trained on and whether permission had been obtained to use it.
GEMA: “Protected music was used without permission”
The lawsuit was filed in early 2025 by GEMA, Germany’s music rights organisation, which represents around 95,000 composers, lyricists and music publishers, as well as millions of international rights holders. According to GEMA, Suno used copyrighted music to train its AI model without obtaining licences or paying any compensation.
As evidence, GEMA pointed to AI-generated songs that showed strong similarities to well-known tracks including ‘Forever Young’, ‘Mambo No. 5’, ‘Daddy Cool’, ‘Big in Japan’, ‘Rasputin’ and ‘Atemlos durch die Nacht’. According to the organisation, this demonstrated that the AI model had not only analysed these works, but had also partially retained them.
Court rules in GEMA’s favour
The Regional Court of Munich largely ruled in favour of GEMA. According to the court, Suno was not permitted to use copyrighted music without permission to train its AI model. The company must also disclose the revenue it generated from the infringement, after which the amount of damages will be determined. The ruling is not yet final, as Suno has announced it is considering an appeal.
Potentially major consequences for the music industry
The decision is being regarded as one of the most significant European legal rulings on AI and music to date. If upheld, it could mean that AI companies operating in Europe will need licences before they are allowed to use copyrighted music to train their models.
AI is also becoming increasingly common within the hard dance scene, where it is used for vocals, songwriting, demo creation and generating creative ideas. As a result, the ruling is likely to further fuel the debate over where the line should be drawn between innovation and copyright.
Photo: rudiernst / Adobe Stock
