LONDON (AP) – Getty Images is currently involved in a legal battle against Stability AI, an artificial intelligence firm, in a London courtroom—the first major copyright case in the generative AI industry.
Initial discussions commenced on Monday before a judge in the UK High Court. The trial could extend for three weeks, followed by a written ruling from the judge, which will be delivered at a later date.
Stability AI, based in London, is known for its popular image creation tool, which generated excitement for the rapid production of AI-generated art and photorealistic images since its launch in August 2022.
Getty, headquartered in Seattle, contends that the creation of an AI image generator called Stable Spread represents “an astonishing scale” of “a blatant infringement” on Getty’s photo collection.
Tech firms have long argued that the legal concept of “fair use” or “fair transaction” in both the US and UK permits them to use extensive collections of texts and images to train AI systems. Getty was the first to confront these practices by filing copyright infringement lawsuits in both the US and the UK in early 2023.
“Stability was insufficient,” said Getty CEO Craig Peters in a 2023 interview with The Associated Press. He emphasized that intellectual property creators should seek permission before their works are provided to AI systems, rather than participating in an “opt-out system.”
Getty’s legal representatives asserted in court on Monday that the dispute is not a conflict between the creative and tech sectors, asserting that collaboration is possible in “synergistic harmony,” given that Creative Works licenses are crucial for AI’s success.
“The issue arises when AI companies like Stability AI wish to use these works without appropriate compensation,” stated Lindsay Lane, Getty’s attorney for the trial.
She addressed that the case revolves around the “basic enforcement of intellectual property rights,” including copyright, trademark, and database rights.
Getty acknowledges that the AI sector is beneficial, but claims that this does not grant developers of AI models the right to broadly exploit intellectual property rights, Lane elaborated.
She also noted that Stability AI displayed a “greedy appetite” for images to train AI models, though “we were entirely indifferent to the nature of those works,” Lane remarked.
Stability’s approach disregarded whether images were protected by copyright, lacked watermarks, were inappropriate, or pornographic, as they aimed to launch the model as quickly as possible.
“This trial examines the implications of that method,” she stated.
Stability’s legal team is anticipated to present their opening arguments on Tuesday, claiming in their written submission that Getty’s stance poses a substantial threat to Stability’s business as well as the broader generative AI industry.
Stability asserts that the case is not applicable in the UK, as the AI models at issue were technically trained outside its jurisdiction, relying on computers operated by US tech giant Amazon. They also argue that “only a small percentage” of the random outputs from the AI image generator “resemble” Getty’s works.
As the trial concludes later this month, it is unlikely that the judge’s ruling will expand copyright exemptions for AI training, according to Ben Milloy, a senior associate at Fladgate, a UK law firm not involved in this case.
However, “in the realm of commercial negotiations for content licensing transactions currently underway globally, either party—whether rights holder or AI developer—could emerge strengthened,” Milloy noted.
Similar lawsuits in the US have yet to be adjudicated.
Several years since the introduction of Open Source Technology, Stability has faced challenges in capitalizing on the popularity of its tools, notably fighting lawsuits and allegations of abuse among other business hurdles.
The foundation of Stable Diffusion was established by computer scientists at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, in collaboration with a tech company based in New York, Runway, to develop the original algorithm. University researchers commended Stability AI for providing the servers required to train models needing vast computational power.
Stability criticized Runway for launching an early iteration of Stable Diffusion that resulted in the generation of abusive sexual imagery; however, they maintain exclusive control over recent versions of the AI model.
In the previous year, Stability announced a notable influx of funding from new investors, including Sean Parker, former president of Facebook, who now leads Stability’s board. Parker has experience in intellectual property controversies, having co-founded the music-sharing service Napster, which temporarily shut down in the early 2000s due to copyright infringement lawsuits from the music industry and prominent rock band Metallica.
Hollywood director James Cameron, known for films like “Titanic” and “Avatar,” is also a board member at Stability.
The new investment followed the resignation of Stability’s founding CEO Emad Mostaque, as several top researchers established a new German startup, Black Forest Labs, to develop competing AI image generators.
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O’Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
Source: apnews.com