Getty Sues AI Company For IP Infringement On Both Sides Of The Pond

If the average person were to go on Getty and take a bunch of their photos without paying, it would be a pretty clear case of IP infringement. How much changes if an AI program does the taking? Is it theft or training? Getty is taking Stability AI to court in the UK to get what they think they’re due and the outcome could change the line between theft and training for many creatives. Reuters has coverage:

Getty Images’ landmark copyright lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Stability AI began at London’s High Court on Monday, with Getty rejecting Stability AI’s contention the case posed a threat to the generative AI industry.

Seattle-based Getty, which produces editorial content and creative stock images and video, accuses Stability AI of using its images to “train” its Stable Diffusion system, which can generate images from text inputs.

Getty, which is bringing a parallel lawsuit against Stability AI in the United States, says Stability AI unlawfully scraped millions of images from its websites and used them to train and develop Stable Diffusion.

Stability AI denies infringing on Getty’s IP. A spokesperson went on to talk about how people use Stability AI for creative ends, which is a weird response to give when being accused of theft. I may be showing my biases, but the responses to theft accusations I generally expect are either denying that you took anything or ponying up the receipt. So what if the results are creative? Do you know how creative I’d be if I were allowed to steal photographs from photographers whenever I see them? Not very, but that’s quite beside the point.

If Stability AI’s argument is that this lawsuit (and others like it) is a threat to its business model and AI as an industry, Getty’s response needs to be “So be it.” And the “so be it” has to be multi-national. What’s the point of strong IP rights in the UK if there are lax protections in the US? That just means that AI companies will catch a flight before they scrape all the content they want to. The lawsuits involving big names like Getty and Elton John are important in their own right, but it is hard to underestimate the spillover effects that the holdings will have for artists and IP holders that don’t have the capital to defend themselves against having their hard work turned into training materials.

Getty Argues Its Landmark UK Copyright Case Does Not Threaten AI [Reuters]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s .  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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