Getty Images Sues AI Art Generator Stable Diffusion in the U.S. for Copyright Infringement

James Vincent, reporting for The Verge:

Getty Images has filed a lawsuit in the US against Stability AI, creators of open-source AI art generator Stable Diffusion, escalating its legal battle against the firm.

The stock photography company is accusing Stability AI of “brazen infringement of Getty Images’ intellectual property on a staggering scale.” It claims that Stability AI copied more than 12 million images from its database “without permission ... or compensation ... as part of its efforts to build a competing business,” and that the startup has infringed on both the company’s copyright and trademark protections.

The fact that Stable Diffusion occasionally produces output with Getty Image’s watermark makes this about as open-and-shut a case of copyright infringement as I can imagine. It’s like a plagiarist who copies the byline of the piece they’re stealing from.

★ Monday, 6 February 2023