Currently, algorithmically generated art is far from perfect. Many generated images – especially when aiming to replicate detailed anatomy – are rife with uncanny errors that prove its AI authorship. However, the technology in use is constantly evolving, and projections are emerging that its growing ease and accessibility will reduce demand for humancreated art. If these prove to be accurate, the new wave of art in business will nonetheless be sourced in the first instance from human artists. Unlike the 2021 NFT bubble, AI development is more than a passing tech trend. Microsoft, Meta and Google have all begun investing heavily in generative AI technology, and it is highly likely that further clashes between IP holders and AI creators will follow unless a method of training these new AI through means other than imagescraping is pioneered. The IP world would be wise to watch the outcomes of the Stability AI lawsuits closely. Popular criticisms of AI art tend to focus on its quality or its derivation from existing sources. However, potential IP violations on the part of generative AI creators have the potential to result in far greater consequences for the nascent technology, as has been demonstrated by stock photography company Getty Images and its lawsuit against tech start-up Stability AI. In the suit, Getty Images claimed 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”. In training its Stable Diffusion generative tool on the images, Getty claims, the firm infringed on both its copyright and trade mark protections. A similar lawsuit has been filed by a trio of American visual artists against Stability AI, DeviantArt and Midjourney, alleging that the Stable Diffusion tool used by all three companies was trained on their copyrighted images. Stability AI have been sanguine about these lawsuits so far, commenting in a statement to the media: “Anyone that believes that this isn’t fair use does not understand the technology and misunderstands the law.” Observers in the legal sector have commented that Getty’s case against Stability AI is on sturdier footing than the artists’ class action lawsuit, but both cases exist in territory that has yet to be tested in court. Whatever the outcome, these cases will likely set a precedent for a good deal of legal action involving generative AI yet to come. SPECIAL FEATURE 35 Where Will This Lead? What Have Been the Legal Ramifications?
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