LONDON — Getty Images has suffered a significant legal defeat in its high-profile lawsuit against artificial intelligence firm Stability AI. The case, heard at London’s High Court, centered on allegations that Stability AI unlawfully used Getty’s copyrighted images to train its popular image-generation model, Stable Diffusion.
Case Background
Getty accused Stability AI of breaching copyright by using millions of its images without permission to train Stable Diffusion, which generates images from text prompts.
The lawsuit also claimed that the AI-generated images reproduced or closely mimicked Getty’s original content.
Court Ruling Highlights
The court dismissed most of Getty’s copyright claims, stating that the company failed to prove that the AI outputs directly infringed on its protected works.
Getty had already dropped part of its case related to the reproduction of specific images, focusing instead on the training data.
The tribunal acknowledged the complexity of applying traditional copyright laws to AI training and generation, highlighting a growing legal gray area.
Industry Impact
The ruling is a partial win for Stability AI and a potential precedent for other AI developers facing similar lawsuits.
Legal experts say the decision exposes gaps in UK copyright protections when it comes to AI and may prompt calls for legislative reform.
Getty and other rights holders are expected to push for stronger legal safeguards to protect intellectual property in the age of generative AI.
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