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Getty Images Sues Stability AI in London Over Alleged Photo Scraping

Experts say the decision could determine legal boundaries for training AI on copyrighted images.

FILE - The desktop and mobile websites for Stable Diffusion are pictured, Oct. 24, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
Image
A close-up taken in November 2023 of a monitor displaying an AI-generated image created by Stable Diffusion, the AI image generation engine of Stability.ai. Picture: Shutterstock/TY Lim

Overview

  • Getty Images alleges that Stability AI scraped millions of its copyrighted photographs without permission to train its Stable Diffusion model.
  • Stability AI denies infringement and claims that large-scale data use is protected by fair use and essential for technological innovation.
  • The trial, which opened on June 9 before Mrs Justice Joanna Smith, is set to last three weeks at the London High Court with judgment to follow.
  • Legal experts warn that the verdict could set a global precedent for AI developers and reshape future content licensing arrangements.
  • Getty’s lead barrister Lindsay Lane KC stressed that copyright enforcement and AI progress can coexist, while Stability’s Hugo Cuddigan KC labelled the lawsuit an existential threat to the industry.