Getty sues AI art company in US over alleged copyright violations

Getty Images, one of the largest providers of digital media assets in the country, is suing an artificial intelligence company alleging it has violated intellectual property law.

In a lawsuit filed last week in District Court in Delaware, Getty Images argues AI art generator Stable Diffusion has “copied more than 12 million photographs from Getty Images’ collection, along with the associated captions and metadata, without permission from or compensation to Getty Images, as part of its efforts to build a competing business.”

The Verge reported on Monday Getty’s lawsuit is the latest in a trend of ongoing legal battles between AI art generators and media asset rights-holders.

On its website, Stable Diffusion says its mission “is to build open-source AI projects through collaborative research efforts between leaders and experts in their fields.”

The company did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Current AI projects the company says it is working on include text-to-image generation and model developments in language, learning, audio and biology.

Getty Images is one of several wire services that collects substantial fees from many large media companies and news providers in exchange for the rights to use photographs and other media assets within its database.

“Stability AI now competes directly with Getty Images by marketing Stable Diffusion and its DreamStudio interface to those seeking creative imagery, and its infringement of Getty Images’ content on a massive scale has been instrumental to its success to date,” the lawsuit argues.