Penguin Random House v. OpenAI
| Court | Munich Regional Court I |
| Country | Germany |
| Parties | Claimants: Penguin Random House (publishing group) (on behalf of the works of Ingo Siegner) Defendant: OpenAI |
| Date Claim Issued | 27 March 2026 |
| Type of Claim | Copyright infringement. |
| Status as of May 2026 | Claim filed; proceedings pending; defendant reviewing the allegations. |
| Summary of Key Background Facts | The claimant, a publishing group that publishes the children’s book series “Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss”, has filed a claim against the defendant. The claimant alleges that the defendant’s AI chatbot reproduces content from the claimant’s copyright-protected works by author and illustrator Ingo Siegner in a recognisable form, even in response to simple user prompts. The chatbot is also said to generate illustrations closely resembling the original character, as well as suggestions for complete manuscripts, including cover designs and accompanying texts. According to the claimant, this indicates that the works were unlawfully used for training the AI system and are “memorised” in the model. The claim was filed after the defendant did not respond to a cease-and-desist and information request. |
| Remedies sought | Injunctive relief and information claims. |
| Summary of key legal arguments | Claimant’s claim The claimant argues that the defendant infringed copyright by reproducing and making available protected content. The recognisable text and image outputs of the chatbot allegedly demonstrate that the works are stored (“memorised”) in the model. This is said to result from the unlawful use of the works for training purposes. Defendant’s defence The defendant has stated that it is reviewing the allegations. It emphasises that it respects the rights of authors and rights holders and notes that it is engaged in discussions with publishers worldwide to ensure that AI technologies can be used in a way that benefits rights holders. Court’s Judgment No decision has been issued yet. |
