Getty Images Drops Main Copyright Claims Against Stability AI in UK Legal Case
Getty Images has dropped its primary copyright infringement claims against AI image company Stability AI in a high-profile legal battle at London’s High Court.
The decision, made as closing arguments began this week, removes the allegation that Stability unlawfully used Getty’s copyrighted photographs to train its image-generating AI model, Stable Diffusion. Getty is still pursuing other claims in the case, including trademark infringement, “passing off,” and secondary copyright infringement.
“It was always anticipated to be challenging to prove that connection to the U.K. because we know that most of the training happened in the U.S.,” AI legal expert Alex Shandro, who observed the trial for law firm A&O Shearman, tells AP.
Getty’s legal team confirmed in closing arguments that it had made a “pragmatic decision” to drop the training-related copyright claims and focus on areas they believe are more likely to succeed.
The withdrawn claims centered on Getty’s assertion that Stability trained Stable Diffusion using millions of copyrighted images without authorization, including some that contained Getty’s distinct watermark. However, legal experts say the company likely struggled to establish that any alleged infringement occurred under U.K. jurisdiction.
“The training claim has likely been dropped due to Getty failing to establish a sufficient connection between the infringing acts and the U.K. jurisdiction for copyright law to bite,” Ben Maling, a partner at law firm EIP, tells Tech Crunch. “Meanwhile, the output claim has likely been dropped due to Getty failing to establish that what the models reproduced reflects a substantial part of what was created in the images. (e.g. by a photographer).”
A spokesperson for Stability AI welcomed the development. “We are pleased to see Getty’s decision to drop multiple claims after the conclusion of testimony,” the company says. “We are grateful for the time and effort the U.K. court has put forth to address the important matters in this case. We look forward to the court’s final judgment.”
The remaining claims could still have significant implications for generative AI companies operating across borders. Getty alleges that even if the AI training occurred outside the U.K., using the models in Britain could amount to importing infringing articles — a potential case of secondary copyright infringement.
Getty also continues to press its trademark claims, arguing that Stability’s AI model reproduced Getty’s watermark on some images, which could mislead consumers. Stability has rejected that argument, asserting that consumers do not view the watermark as a commercial message from the AI company.
The case in London follows a separate but related lawsuit Getty filed in the United States in early 2023. That case includes similar allegations of unauthorized use of over 12 million images and seeks $1.7 billion in damages. Getty says its U.K. litigation strategy does not affect the U.S. case, which is still awaiting a ruling on a motion to dismiss.
The developments in both jurisdictions come amid growing legal scrutiny of AI companies. Just this week, a U.S. judge dismissed a key part of a lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, ruling that AI developers can train AI models on copyrighted content without obtaining permission from the content creators.
A final decision in the U.K. case is expected in the coming months.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
