Getty Images & Stability Al Compete In British Copyright Trial That Will Test AI Industry
Getty Images & Stability Al Compete In British Copyright Trial That Will Test AI Industry
According to Getty, development of Stability AI’s image maker involved ‘brazen infringement’ of its photography collection on a massive scale.
Getty Images is taking on AI company, Stability AI, in a London courtroom in the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry.
Based in London, Stability, owns widely used AI image-making tools that sparked interest in instant creation of AI artwork and photorealistic images upon its August 2022 release. Three months later, OpenAl introduced its surprise hit chatbot ChatGPT. Whereas Getty, based in Seattle, reportedly alleged that the AI image maker called Stable Diffusion was developed ‘brazenly infringing’ Getty’s photography collection ‘on a staggering scale’.
For long, tech companies have argued that legal doctrines of ‘fair use’ or ‘fair dealing’ in the US and UK allow them to train their AI systems on large piles of writings or images. When it filed copyright infringement lawsuits in the US and UK in early 2023, Getty was among the first to challenge those practices. Getty CEO Craig Peters reportedly told The Associated Press in 2023 that what Stability did was inappropriate and that creators of intellectual property (IP) should be asked for consent before AI systems are fed their works rather than having to take part in an ‘opt-out regime’. The legal team of Getty told the court that the case is not a battle between the creative and technology industries and that the two can still work together in ‘synergistic harmony’ as licensing creative works is essential for AI’s success.
Getty’s trial lawyer Lindsay Lane reportedly said, "The problem is when Al companies such as Stability AI want to use those works without payment. Lane said that the case was about ‘straightforward enforcement of IP rights’ including copyright, trademark and database rights. She reportedly further said, “Getty Images recognizes that the AI industry is a force for good but that doesn't justify those developing AI models to ride roughshod over IP rights.” Meanwhile, Stability has argued that the case does not belong in the UK as the training of AI models technically took place elsewhere on US tech giant Amazon-run computers.
Ben Milloy, senior associate at UK law firm Fladgate reportedly opined that the judge’s decision is unlikely to give the AI industry expanded copyright exemptions for AI training however it could strengthen the hand of either party – rights holders or AI developers – in the context of commercial negotiations for content licensing deals that are currently playing out worldwide
