A London-based artificial intelligence company, Stability AI, is facing a copyright lawsuit brought by global photography agency Getty Images. Getty claims that Stability’s image generation model trained on its vast database of copyrighted photographs without permission, resulting in images with Getty’s watermarks still visible.
Getty alleges that Stability’s directors, including Oscar-winning film director James Cameron, are indifferent to the potential problems their innovation might create. However, Stability counters that Getty is using “fanciful” legal routes and spending £10m to fight a technology it fears is an existential threat to its business.
The case involves thousands of Getty Images photographs, including images of celebrities, politicians, and news events. Stability’s lawyer says the allegations relating to child sexual abuse material are “repugnant,” but the company has robust safeguards in place to prevent misuse.
The dispute highlights a growing concern among artists and creators about protecting their intellectual property rights from generative AI companies. The UK government is also involved, with a proposed law that would require copyright holders to opt out of their material being used to train algorithms and produce AI-generated content.
The trial will focus on the use of images by celebrated photographers and will involve evidence from AI experts at top universities. Seventy-eight thousand pages of evidence have been disclosed in the case, which is scheduled to run for several weeks.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/09/stability-ai-getty-lawsuit-copyright