Getty vs Stability AI trial in London begins first major copyright case for generative AI

Getty Images and artificial intelligence company Stability AI are facing off in London’s High Court in the first major copyright trial targeting the generative AI industry. The three-week trial, which began Monday, centers on Getty’s claims that Stability’s widely-used Stable Diffusion image generator constitutes “brazen infringement” of Getty’s photography collection “on a staggering scale,” potentially setting crucial precedents for how AI companies can legally train their models on copyrighted content.

What you should know: Getty Images, a Seattle-based stock photography company, filed copyright infringement lawsuits in both the US and UK in early 2023, challenging the common tech industry practice of training AI systems on vast collections of copyrighted material without permission.

• Getty argues that creators should be asked for permission before their works are used to train AI systems, rather than being forced into an “opt-out regime.”
• The case could strengthen either rights holders or AI developers in ongoing global negotiations for content licensing deals, though it’s unlikely to provide the expanded copyright exemptions the AI industry seeks.

Getty’s position: The company’s legal team emphasized this isn’t a battle between creative and technology industries, but rather “straightforward enforcement of intellectual property rights.”

• “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 intellectual property rights,” said Getty’s trial lawyer Lindsay Lane.
• Lane argued that Stability had a “voracious appetite” for images and was “completely indifferent to the nature of those works,” including copyrighted images, watermarked content, and inappropriate material.

Stability’s defense: The London-based company argues Getty’s claims “represent an overt threat to Stability’s whole business, and the wider generative AI industry.”

• Stability contends the case doesn’t belong in the UK because the AI model training technically occurred elsewhere, on Amazon’s US-based servers.
• The company claims “only a tiny proportion” of its AI image-generator’s random outputs “look at all similar” to Getty’s works.

The bigger picture: Tech companies have long relied on “fair use” and “fair dealing” legal doctrines in the US and UK to justify training AI systems on large collections of copyrighted content without permission.

• Stable Diffusion sparked widespread enthusiasm for AI-generated artwork when it launched in August 2022, three months before OpenAI released ChatGPT.
• Similar cases in the US have not yet reached trial, making this UK case particularly significant for establishing legal precedents.

Company developments: Stability AI has faced significant business challenges since introducing its open-source technology.

• The company received a “significant” investment infusion last year from new investors including Sean Parker, Facebook’s former president and Napster co-founder, who now chairs Stability’s board.
• Founding CEO Emad Mostaque quit and several top researchers left to form competing startup Black Forest Labs, which makes a rival AI image generator.

What they’re saying: Getty CEO Craig Peters emphasized the importance of obtaining proper permissions for AI training data.

• “What Stability did was inappropriate,” Peters told The Associated Press in 2023, arguing that creators should be asked for permission rather than having to participate in an “opt-out regime.”