German court rules AI music firm Suno broke copyright rules

A German court ruled that AI music firm Suno must disclose illicit revenue and pay damages for copyright infringement, a significant victory for artists and publishers.

A German court ruled on Friday that AI music firm Suno violated copyrights and has ‌to disclose illicit revenue, part of a wider legal battle by artists and publishers against ‌technology firms. The Munich-based regional court said Suno did not have the right to process songs by artists represented by Germany's state-mandated licensing agency Gema.

According to the verdict, which can be appealed before a higher court, Suno ⁠will ​have to pay damages ⁠that have yet to be quantified. "This is a verdict of global significance," Gema CEO Tobias Holzmueller told Reuters.

Suno ⁠said that it disagreed with the ruling and would evaluate all available options, including an appeal. Gema ​sued against Suno's use of free music on Alphabet's YouTube from a number of ⁠artists including Alphaville, the band behind 1980s hits "Forever Young" and "Big in Japan".

The German government's culture representative, Wolfram Weimer, called ⁠the ​verdict an important signal to support creators' rights in the digital music industry. "We need a regulatory framework that strengthens innovation and creativity," he said in a statement.

Massachusetts-based ⁠Suno, valued at $5.4 billion in a June funding round, allows users to generate songs via ⁠prompts. In various litigation ⁠proceedings, AI music companies have been accused of failing to compensate composers.

More than 1,800 artists are supporting class-action lawsuits against Suno and peer ‌Udio.