Getty Images Files Suit Against AI Art Generator Over Unauthorized Use Of Images

Earlier this week, a group of artists launched a class-action lawsuit against Midjourney, DeviantArt, and Stablility AI, the creator of artificial intelligence generator Stable Diffusion. 

Now, it appears stock image site Getty Images is filing its own lawsuit against the makers of Stable Diffusion, claiming that its extensive photo library was illegally scraped to feed the image generator’s database. 

According to a press release, the photography bank says Stability AI “unlawfully copied and processed millions of images protected by copyright” to train its software. 

Getty Images isn’t completely against the use of AI. In fact, the company said it believes the technology “has the potential to stimulate creative endeavors,” and even offers special licenses for images to be fed to databases. 

However, the problem is that Stability AI allegedly did not seek any of such licenses from the site, and as it was put in the press release, it “chose to ignore viable licensing options and long-standing legal protections.” 

Interestingly, in a statement regarding the matter, a spokesperson for the company facing the lawsuit says it is still awaiting notice of the filing, and only found out about the matter through the press. 

It looks like matters are piling up against the software, though it remains to be seen if it will find itself in hot water in the eyes of the law. Nonetheless, the spokesperson said says firm is taking “these matters seriously.” 

[via Artnet News and CNN, cover image via Rafael Henrique | Dreamstime.com]