Getty Images v Stability AI trial kicks off in London
A case between online stock pictures library giant Getty Images and UK-based AI image generator Stability AI kicked off this morning at London’s High Court.
The trial, which is set to bring a landmark decision on the protection of intellectual property rights in the wake of AI, involves US giant Getty Images alleging that Stability AI unlawfully copied and processed millions of copyrighted images to train its image generation technology.
The case centres around Stable Diffusion, a tool owned by Stability AI, which automatically generates images based on text or image prompts inputs.
Getty Images has sued the UK business, alleging that its intellectual property rights have been infringed by this tool, as it claims that its copyrighted images were used in the training of Stable Diffusion.
Stability AI denies the claims.
Case will be closely watched
This case, which was issued to the Intellectual Property List in January 2023, is the first to reach a trial in the English High Court concerning a generative AI developer.
The parties have already been going back and forth over the last year and a half, with the court issuing several orders.
The case now proceeds to trial on Monday before Mrs Justice Joanna Smith and is scheduled to run for three weeks.
Rebecca Newman, managing associate at Addleshaw Goddard said: “Legally, we’re in uncharted territory”.
The trial will be closely watched as its judgment will be the first to address critical issues between copyright law and AI technology.
Newman pointed out the judgment will clarify UK’s position on copyright law around AI, but added it could change if the decision is appealed, or Parliament updates UK legislation to address emerging technologies.”
The UK government, like other countries, grapples with the AI boom, which is causing an AI copyright crisis.
Just last month, leading figures in the UK’s creative industry, including Elton John, Dua Lipa, Paul McCartney, and Sir Ian McKellen, urged the Prime Minister to strengthen copyright protections in the age of AI.
Getty Images also has a parallel legal case against Stability AI in the District of Delaware.
Alex Shandro, partner in the AI group at A&O Shearman noted, “With US cases still in earlier stages, this case is certainly in the vanguard of fighting copyright claims in the generative AI boom, along with a couple of cases in federal courts in California.”
“We have had a couple of recent decisions in Germany and Delaware on AI training and copyright infringement, but those cases were specific to a narrow set of facts and have limited ramifications for generative AI development and deployment.”
“The Stability AI case, by contrast, is likely to have wider ramifications, both for developers and deployers of generative AI models,” Shandro added.