Chatbots in Germany told to pay for the use of copyrighted song lyrics
In August 2025, the European Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) came into force. However, groups representing artists say there are still many loopholes that need to be fixed for them to thrive in a creative world increasingly dominated by AI. The AI Act, celebrated for being the first comprehensive legislation to regulate AI globally, is riddled with problems, these organizations say.
Groups like the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) and the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) argue that it fails to protect creators whose works are used to train generative AI models. Without a clear way to opt out or get paid when tech companies use their music, books, movies, and other art to train their AI models, experts say that their work is continually at risk.
On Nov 11, a German court ruled in a landmark case that OpenAI must pay a licensing fee to use copyrighted song lyrics in its artificial intelligence (AI) models, including ChatGPT. Presiding judge Elke Schwager ruled in favor of the Society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights (GEMA), Germany’s largest music rights collecting organization, which lodged a complaint last year against the US-based OpenAI over its use of copyrighted lyrics.
The judge ordered OpenAI to compensate GEMA for all damages, including unpaid royalties and legal fees, plus interest. OpenAI could be forced to pay the group hundreds of thousands of euros if the ruling holds.
An OpenAI spokesperson told Euronews Next in an email that the company disagreed with the ruling and is considering its next steps. “The decision is for a limited set of lyrics and does not impact the millions of people, businesses, and developers in Germany that use our technology every day,” the spokesperson said.
“We respect the rights of creators and content owners and are having productive conversations with many organizations around the world, so that they can also benefit from the opportunities of this technology,” the spokesperson added. OpenAI can still appeal the decision.
The case concerns the lyrics of nine well-known German songwriters represented by GEMA, including Kristina Bach and Rolf Zuckowski. GEMA alleges that OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot memorized these lyrics in its datasets and reproduced “large parts” of these songs “verbatim” when prompted. OpenAI argued that its language models do not store or copy specific training data, but rather learn patterns and generate new outputs based on those patterns.
Reference: OpenAI chatbots cannot use song lyrics without paying, German court rules in landmark trial
The brand’s ‘Holidays are Coming‘ ad has been a staple on screens since it was first released in 1995, but last year’s update caused uproar with viewers and critics. Despite a massive amount of outrage when they released their AI Christmas ad last year, Coca-Cola has decided to do it again for 2025.
Hollywood writer Alex Hirsch even went as far as to condemn the advert by saying: ‘Coca-Cola is red because it’s made from the blood of out-of-work artists,’ but whether or not it was because people liked the ad or were just curious about it, the ad was seen as a commercial success.
With that in mind, the company decided to do it again for their 2025 campaign, highlighting how far AI has come in the past year.
Speaking on the new ad, Global VP and Head of Generative AI at Coca-Cola, Pratik Thakar, told The Hollywood Reporter: “Last year we decided to go all in, and it worked out well for us, consumer engagement was very high.
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“Yes, some parts of the industry were not pleased we were using a 100% Generative AI film, but that’s part and parcel of doing something pioneering. We understand that concern. But we need to keep moving forward and pushing the envelope,” Thakar added.
This year’s ad sees the famous Coca-Cola truck driving through different towns and locations as a number of animals from seals to pandas look on.
Another wrote: “[To the] 2025 AI slop cheap Coca-Cola commercial: You will *never* be 1990’s festively warm and comforting Coca-Cola Christmas commercial.” A third said: “It looks good, but [not gonna lie], the way it feels is so different. I feel like the essence of Christmas is not there.”
