AI art tools spotted copying images from websites requiring subscription

Stock photo company Getty Images is taking legal action against AI art generator Stable Diffusion, alleging that the latter copied over 12 million images without proper authorization or compensation.

The company claims that Stable Diffusion utilized their images as part of its efforts to establish a rival business, violating both copyright and trademark laws.

This lawsuit is just one of the numerous ongoing legal disputes between AI art generators and intellectual property owners.

AI art tools require large amounts of data, which are often acquired by scraping illustrations, artwork, and photographs from the internet, without obtaining consent from the creators.

The outcome of this case could have a major impact on the AI art industry, which has been accused of duplicating images from other sources instead of producing original content.

Legal experts believe that Getty Images has a strong case and the lawsuit will likely hinge on the interpretation of the US fair use doctrine, which allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material in specific circumstances.

The principle of “transformative use” will also be crucial in the outcome, as the court will examine whether the output of Stable Diffusion is distinct enough from its training data.

This lawsuit has sparked a lot of interest and has been referred to as a “fascinating fair use battle” by copyright attorney Aaron Moss.

The case is expected to take several years to resolve and will have a significant impact on the future of the AI art industry.