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ARTICLE · 15 MARCH 2024

Contrasting AI Artwork Copyright Cases Raise Fundamental Questions

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The Beijing Internet Court recently issued a first instance judgment on AI-generated artwork, finding copyrightable elements in an image created using Stable Diffusion.

United StatesTechnology
Nandi (Landy) Jiang
Nandi (Landy) Jiang
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Examining copyright decisions made toward Stable Diffusion and Midjourney

The Beijing Internet Court recently issued a first instance judgment on AI-generated artwork, finding copyrightable elements in an image created using Stable Diffusion. This is the first time that China's courts have rendered a ruling on AI-generated image artwork. In contrast, earlier in February 2023, the US Copyright Office made a decision and deemed the images generated by AI drawing tool Midjourney ineligible for copyright, underscoring the importance of human authorship in copyright law.

By igniting debates on AI-generated content (AIGC) copyright, these two cases encourage us to critically examine the interplay between human and AI contributions to creation.

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