ARTICLE · 09 OCTOBER 2023

AI And IP Law: Unstable Times

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Earlier this year Getty Images announced that it had commenced legal proceedings for copyright infringement against Stability AI in the High Court in Londo...

United KingdomIntellectual Property

Alexander Cameron

Earlier this year Getty Images announced that it had commenced legal proceedings for copyright infringement against Stability AI in the High Court in London. Getty Images claims that Stability AI has engaged in the unlawful copying and processing of "millions of images protected by copyright and the associated metadata owned or represented by Getty Images".

Getty Images is a leading provider of visual content including digital imagery. Stability AI operates a platform known as Stable Diffusion which offers text-to-image generative AI services which produce 'synthetic' visual images in response to text prompts. As discussed below, the litigation between these parties reflects the growing competitive tension between the interests of rights' holders in the creative industries and those of emerging, generative AI systems.

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