diff --git a/Cabal-syntax/src/Distribution/SPDX/LicenseId.hs b/Cabal-syntax/src/Distribution/SPDX/LicenseId.hs
index 54450d72014..2fbae8d0917 100644
--- a/Cabal-syntax/src/Distribution/SPDX/LicenseId.hs
+++ b/Cabal-syntax/src/Distribution/SPDX/LicenseId.hs
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 -- This file is generated. See Makefile's spdx rule
 {-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable #-}
-{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric      #-}
 module Distribution.SPDX.LicenseId (
     LicenseId (..),
     licenseId,
@@ -450,7 +449,7 @@ data LicenseId
     | ZPL_1_1 -- ^ @ZPL-1.1@, Zope Public License 1.1
     | ZPL_2_0 -- ^ @ZPL-2.0@, Zope Public License 2.0
     | ZPL_2_1 -- ^ @ZPL-2.1@, Zope Public License 2.1
-  deriving (Eq, Ord, Enum, Bounded, Show, Read, Typeable, Data, Generic)
+  deriving (Eq, Ord, Enum, Bounded, Show, Read, Typeable, Data)
 
 instance Binary LicenseId where
     -- Word16 is encoded in big endianess
diff --git a/Cabal-tests/tests/UnitTests/Distribution/SPDX.hs b/Cabal-tests/tests/UnitTests/Distribution/SPDX.hs
index 1e605a40340..2f598553eba 100644
--- a/Cabal-tests/tests/UnitTests/Distribution/SPDX.hs
+++ b/Cabal-tests/tests/UnitTests/Distribution/SPDX.hs
@@ -25,15 +25,7 @@ import Test.QuickCheck.Instances.Cabal ()
 spdxTests :: [TestTree]
 spdxTests =
     [ testProperty "LicenseId roundtrip" licenseIdRoundtrip
-#if MIN_VERSION_binary(0,7,0)
-    , testProperty "LicenseId Binary.put" licenseIdBinaryPut
-    , testProperty "LicenseId Binary.get" licenseIdBinaryGet
-#endif
     , testProperty "LicenseExceptionId roundtrip" licenseExceptionIdRoundtrip
-#if MIN_VERSION_binary(0,7,0)
-    , testProperty "LicenseExceptionId Binary.put" licenseExceptionIdBinaryPut
-    , testProperty "LicenseExceptionId Binary.get" licenseExceptionIdBinaryGet
-#endif
     , testProperty "LicenseRef roundtrip" licenseRefRoundtrip
     , testProperty "SimpleLicenseExpression roundtrip" simpleLicenseExpressionRoundtrip
     , testProperty "LicenseExpression roundtrip" licenseExpressionRoundtrip
@@ -46,29 +38,6 @@ licenseIdRoundtrip x =
     counterexample (prettyShow x) $
     Right x === eitherParsec (prettyShow x)
 
-#if MIN_VERSION_binary(0,7,0)
-licenseIdBinaryPut :: LicenseId -> Property
-licenseIdBinaryPut x =
-    Binary.runPut (Binary.put x)
-    ===
-    Binary.runPut (Binary.gput (from x))
-
-licenseIdBinaryGet :: Word8 -> Word8 -> Property
-licenseIdBinaryGet w0 w1 =
-    stripMsg id (Binary.runGetOrFail Binary.get bs)
-    ===
-    stripMsg to (Binary.runGetOrFail Binary.gget bs)
-  where
-    bs = LBS.pack [w0, w1]
-
-    stripMsg
-        :: (a -> LicenseId)
-        -> Either (x, y, String) (x, y, a)
-        -> Either (x, y) (x, y, LicenseId)
-    stripMsg _ (Left (x,y,_))  = Left (x,y)
-    stripMsg f (Right (x,y,t)) = Right (x,y,f t)
-#endif
-
 licenseExceptionIdRoundtrip :: LicenseExceptionId -> Property
 licenseExceptionIdRoundtrip x =
     counterexample (prettyShow x) $
diff --git a/changelog.d/pr-8117 b/changelog.d/pr-8117
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7ba3b11a6e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/pr-8117
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+synopsis: Remove the Generic instance of LicenseId
+packages: Cabal
+prs: #8117
+issues: #8074
+significance: significant
+
+description: {
+
+- The `Generic` instance of LicenseId is removed, due to the extraordinary amount of memory required to compile
+  the Generic instances of large sum types in GHC.
+}
diff --git a/templates/SPDX.LicenseId.template.hs b/templates/SPDX.LicenseId.template.hs
index cb36599ba45..bc032eb4d0c 100644
--- a/templates/SPDX.LicenseId.template.hs
+++ b/templates/SPDX.LicenseId.template.hs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 {-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable #-}
-{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric      #-}
 module Distribution.SPDX.LicenseId (
     LicenseId (..),
     licenseId,
@@ -35,7 +34,7 @@ import qualified Text.PrettyPrint as Disp
 -- | SPDX License identifier
 data LicenseId
 {{ licenseIds }}
-  deriving (Eq, Ord, Enum, Bounded, Show, Read, Typeable, Data, Generic)
+  deriving (Eq, Ord, Enum, Bounded, Show, Read, Typeable, Data)
 
 instance Binary LicenseId where
     -- Word16 is encoded in big endianess