German publisher alleges ChatGPT illegally reproduced content from the “Coconut the Little Dragon” series, marking a key AI copyright case.

BERLIN: Publishing giant Penguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging its ChatGPT tool violated copyright by mimicking content from a popular German children’s book series.

The lawsuit, filed in a Munich court against OpenAI’s European subsidiary, claims ChatGPT readily produced illustrations and content from Ingo Siegner’s “Coconut the Little Dragon” series.

According to the publisher’s statement, the AI-generated content was “virtually indistinguishable from the original” after simple user prompts.

Penguin Random House argued this ease of reproduction is clear evidence the books were unlawfully used to train the AI system.

The publisher also alleged ChatGPT proactively suggested creating a print-ready manuscript, including infringing cover art and blurbs.

It further offered users specific instructions for posting the knockoff work on self-publishing platforms.

The publishing group had previously demanded OpenAI remove the material in a letter but received no response.

“We are fundamentally open to the opportunities offered by AI, but at the same time, the protection of intellectual property is our top priority,” said Carina Mathern, the publisher for children’s and young-adult books.

Parent company Bertelsmann had inked a deal with OpenAI in January 2025 to collaborate on projects.

That deal, however, did not grant OpenAI access to Bertelsmann’s media archives.

The German Publishers and Booksellers Association welcomed the lawsuit as an important step towards urgently needed AI regulation.

OpenAI has faced a slew of similar lawsuits from authors and publishers over training its models on copyrighted works.

In November, a German court ruled OpenAI infringed copyright by using song lyrics to train its AI without licences.

 The Sun Malaysia