The UK High Court recently dismissed a copyright lawsuit filed by global image giant Getty Images against Stability AI, a decision seen as a major milestone in the generative AI field. The case focused on whether using copyrighted images to train AI models constitutes infringement.

Getty Images accused Stability AI of "scraping" millions of its photos without permission for training its generative model Stable Diffusion, claiming this behavior posed a "threat to the creative industry." However, as the case progressed, Getty ultimately withdrew some key allegations, including direct claims about the model's training methods and generated content.

According to court documents, there was no evidence that the training process of Stable Diffusion took place in the UK. This limited the scope of the case to issues of "indirect copyright infringement" and "trademark infringement."

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Court Ruling: AI Models Are Not "Infringing Copies"

Judge Joanna Smith, who presided over the case, clearly stated that artificial intelligence models like Stable Diffusion do not store or copy any copyrighted works, and therefore do not constitute "infringing copies" under the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA).

In her judgment, she wrote, "The training of AI models involves extracting features and statistical patterns, not reproducing the original works themselves. Model weights are not equivalent to copies of works." This means that the existence of an AI model itself does not infringe on copyright unless it can be proven that its output directly copies protected content.

Getty's Trademark Claims Receive Limited Support

Although the copyright claims were dismissed, Getty achieved a limited victory in its trademark lawsuit. The court ruled that early versions of Stable Diffusion may have generated images with watermarks similar to those of Getty Images or iStock, constituting a certain degree of trademark infringement.

However, the judge also emphasized that this occurred only in individual samples, and "the frequency and extent of real-world impact remain undetermined." As a result, the court rejected Getty's claims regarding reputational damage and additional damages.

Industry Impact: AI Copyright Boundaries Redefined

This ruling is seen as a key victory for global generative AI companies. It clarifies the legal boundaries between AI model training and copyright reproduction, providing judicial reference for future industry development. At the same time, the case highlights the importance of compliance with training data and trademark identification mechanisms for AI.

Currently, Getty Images' similar litigation in the United States is still ongoing. Regardless of the outcome, this UK case has become a landmark event in global AI regulation and copyright legislation.