Getty Images and Stability AI face off in British copyright trial that will test AI industry

Getty Images is facing off against artificial intelligence company Stability AI in a London courtroom for the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry.
Opening arguments before a judge at the British High Court began on Monday. The trial could last for three weeks followed by a written decision from the judge expected at a later date. Stability, based in London, owns a widely used AI image-making tool that sparked enthusiasm for the instant creation of AI artwork and photorealistic images upon its release in August 2022. OpenAI introduced its surprise hit chatbot ChatGPT three months later.
Seattle-based Getty has argued that the development of the AI image maker, called Stable Diffusion, involved 'brazen infringement' of Getty's photography collection 'on a staggering scale.'
Tech companies have long argued that 'fair use' or 'fair dealing' legal doctrines in the United States and United Kingdom allow them to train their AI systems on large troves of writings or images. Getty was among the first to challenge those practices when it filed copyright infringement lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom in early 2023.
'What Stability did was inappropriate,' Getty CEO Craig Peters told The Associated Press in 2023. He said creators of intellectual property should be asked for permission before their works are fed into AI systems rather than having to participate in an 'opt-out regime.' Getty's legal team told the court Monday that the case isn't a battle between the creative and technology industries and that the two can still work together in 'synergistic harmony' because licensing creative works is critical to AI's success.
'The problem is when AI companies such as Stability AI want to use those works without payment,' Getty's trial lawyer, Lindsay Lane, said.
She said the case was about 'straightforward enforcement of intellectual property rights,' including copyright, trademark and database rights.
Getty Images 'recognizes that the AI industry is a force for good but that doesn't justify those developing AI models to ride roughshod over intellectual property rights,' Lane said.
Stability AI had a 'voracious appetite' for images to train its AI model, but was 'completely indifferent to the nature of those works,' Lane said.
Stability didn't care if images were protected by copyright, had watermarks, were not safe for work or were pornographic — it just wanted to get its model to the market as soon as possible, Lane said. 'This trial is the day of reckoning for that approach,' she said. Stability lawyers are expected to make their opening arguments Tuesday. They say in a prepared written argument that Getty's claims 'represent an overt threat to Stability's whole business, and the wider generative AI industry.'
Stability has argued that the case doesn't belong in the United Kingdom because the training of the AI model technically happened elsewhere, on computers run by U.S. tech giant Amazon. The company also argues that 'only a tiny proportion' of the random outputs of its AI image-generator 'look at all similar' to Getty's works.
Once the trial concludes later this month, the judge's decision is unlikely to give the AI industry what it most wants, which is expanded copyright exemptions for AI training, said Ben Milloy, a senior associate at UK law firm Fladgate, which is not involved in the case.
But it could 'strengthen the hand of either party – rights holders or AI developers – in the context of the commercial negotiations for content licensing deals that are currently playing out worldwide,' Milloy said.
Similar cases in the U.S. have not yet gone to trial. In the years after introducing its open-source technology, Stability confronted challenges in capitalizing on the popularity of the tool, battling lawsuits, misuse and other business problems.
Stable Diffusion's roots trace back to Germany, where computer scientists at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich worked with the New York-based tech company Runway to develop the original algorithms. The university researchers credited Stability AI for providing the servers that trained the models, which require large amounts of computing power.Stability later blamed Runway for releasing an early version of Stable Diffusion that was used to produce abusive sexual images, but also said it would have exclusive control of more recent versions of the AI model.
Stability last year announced what it described as a 'significant' infusion of money from new investors including Facebook's former president Sean Parker, who is now chair of Stability's board. Parker has experience in intellectual property disputes as the co-founder of online music company Napster, which temporarily shuttered in the early 2000s after the record industry and popular rock band Metallica sued over copyright violations.
Hollywood director James Cameron, whose films include 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' is also a Stability board member. The new investments came after Stability's founding CEO Emad Mostaque quit and several top researchers left to form a new German startup, Black Forest Labs, which makes a competing AI image generator.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Hindustan Times

20 minutes ago

• Hindustan Times

Oil soars as Trump's attack on Iran ramps up risks to supplies

Oil surged after the US struck Iran's three main nuclear sites and threatened further attacks, exacerbating a crisis in the Middle East and stoking concerns that energy supplies from the region could be disrupted. A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran is seen behind a 3D printed oil pipeline in this illustration taken June 22, 2025.(Reuters) Global benchmark Brent rallied as much as 5.7% to $81.40 a barrel, extending three weeks of gains. Timespreads widened. In a weekend address, US President Donald Trump said air attacks had 'obliterated' the trio of targets, and threatened more military action if Iran didn't make peace. In its initial reply, Tehran warned the strikes would trigger 'everlasting consequences.' The US assault — which targeted sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — dramatically raises the stakes in the confrontation and increases the premium that traders are pricing into the global energy market. Still, the extent of the gains will hinge on how Tehran opts to respond to the US moves. The global oil market has been gripped by the crisis since Israel attacked Iran more than a week ago, with futures pushing higher, options volumes spiking along with freight rates, and the futures curve shifting to reflect tensions about tighter near-term supplies. The Middle East accounts for about a third of global crude output, and higher, sustained prices would boost inflationary pressures worldwide. 'This could set us on a path toward $100 oil, if Iran responds as they have previously threatened to,' said Saul Kavonic, an energy analyst at MST Marquee. 'This US attack could see a conflagration of the conflict.' There are multiple, overlapping risks for physical crude flows. The biggest centers on the Strait of Hormuz, should Tehran seek to retaliate by attempting to close the chokepoint. About a fifth of the world's crude output passes through the narrow waterway at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. Iran's parliament has called for the closure of the strait, according to state-run TV. Such a move, however, could not proceed though without the explicit approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rival Suppliers In addition, Tehran could opt to target crude infrastructure in rival suppliers in the Middle East, such as fellow OPEC producers including Saudi Arabia, Iraq or the United Arab Emirates. After the US attack, both Riyadh and Baghdad expressed concern about the targeting of the nuclear facilities. Elsewhere, Tehran could orchestrate attacks on ships on the other side of the Arabian peninsula in the Red Sea, encouraging Yemen-based Houthi rebels to harass vessels. After the US attacks, the group threatened retaliation. If the hostilities escalate, Tehran's own oil-producing capabilities could be targeted, including the key export hub at Kharg Island. Such a move, however, could send crude prices soaring, an outcome that America might want to avoid. So far, Kharg Island has been spared, with satellite imagery pointing to a drive by Iran to expedite its exports of oil. The crisis will also throw a spotlight onto the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and its allies including Russia. In recent months, OPEC has been relaxing supply curbs at a rapid clip seeking to regain market share, and yet members still have substantial idled capacity that could be reactivated.

Deccan Herald

an hour ago

• Deccan Herald

Heavy inflow puts paid to work on replacing TB dam's 19th crest gate

Hardware Tools And Machinery Projects Private Limited, a Ahmedabad-based company, has won the contract to supply all the 33 gates, to replace the old ones, at the dam.

Time of India

2 hours ago

• Time of India

Israeli stocks hit record high

Israeli stocks hit record highs on Sunday as investors believe the US strikes would prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons anytime soon. The broader Tel Aviv 125 index closed 1.8% higher, while the blue-chip TA-35 gained 1.5%. reuters Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now