Major win for Stability AI in UK: AI model isn't an infringing copy.
Miley Cyrus NSFW AI generated images not enough to prove trademark dilution in real life, but court finds limited trademark infringement.
Mrs Justice Joanna Smith of the UK High Court of Justice just issued a 205-page ruling in Getty Images v. Stability AI, the UK case similar to the U.S. lawsuit. The Justice described the case as “historic” due to the novel issues raised by AI. But she underscored that her “findings at this trial are, of necessity, extremely limited” because Getty Images only offered evidence of alleged infringement it generated through its investigation (and not by actual users in real life) and only in respect of the earlier v1.x and v2.x of Stability AI models.
After the copyright claim based on Stability AI’s training its model (with copyrighted works) outside of the UK dropped out of the case during trial due to the principle of territoriality (the case in the U.S. covers Stability AI’s training), Justice Smith ruled:
No secondary copyright infringement: Stability AI model was not infringing copy absent proof it contained or stored a copy.
Limited trademark infringement
UK Trade Mark Act Section 10(1) infringement: Yes.
UK Trade Mark Act Section 10(2) infringement: Yes.
UK Trade Mark Act Section 10(3) infringement (detriment to distinctive character/dilution): No.
The court concluded: “In summary, although Getty Images succeed (in part) in their Trade Mark Infringement Claim, my findings are both historic and extremely limited in scope. The Secondary Infringement Claim fails.”
