The Munich Regional Court today delivered a verdict in a highly anticipated case: OpenAI violated applicable law by training its AI models with copyrighted material belonging to GEMA members (musicians).

The Verdict: The court ruled in favor of GEMA. It determined that operators of AI models must also comply with copyright law and acquire licenses for the content used for training. Mere “fascination” with the technology does not override the rights of the creators.

The Significance: This verdict is a massive victory for artists and collecting societies and could serve as an important precedent (similar to the lawsuit by artists that we reported on November 7). It compels AI companies to disclose their training data and license it retroactively – a potentially multi-billion-euro cost factor for the industry.

The two-day Handelsblatt AI Summit 2025 kicked off today in Munich. Under the motto “Vision & Value,” executives from companies like Mercedes-Benz, ING, and Bosch are meeting to discuss the real value creation of AI.

The topics: Unlike purely technical conferences, this one focuses on the “hard” business factors: How do you scale AI projects profitably? What organizational structure is needed? And how do you manage the new risks?

The general sentiment: The opening keynotes made it clear that the “experimental phase” is over. 2026 is seen as the year in which AI must deliver a measurable contribution to operating profit. The focus is shifting from “What is possible?” to “What is profitable?”

A new whitepaper report by SUNRATE and FXC Intelligence was presented today at the Singapore FinTech Festival. The key finding: 2025 will be the year that AI and stablecoins will propel global B2B payments from the “hype phase” to the “performance phase.”

What’s happening? AI agents will automate complex treasury functions and risk analysis. At the same time, stablecoins (crypto-assets pegged to currencies) will enable instant, cheaper cross-border payments.

The impact: The combination of these two technologies is beginning to displace traditional banking infrastructures. According to the report, companies are already seeing two- to three-fold productivity gains in their finance departments.

November 12, 2025, will show how AI finally arrives in the real world – and with it, its limitations. The GEMA ruling (Story 1) sets the legal boundaries for training. The Handelsblatt summit (Story 2) sets the economic boundaries (profitability). And the financial report (Story 3) reveals where the technology is already quietly and steadily making its mark.