Getty Images, a provider of stock photos, has taken legal action by filing a lawsuit in London’s High Court against artificial intelligence company Stability AI. The lawsuit aims to secure an injunction to prevent Stability AI from selling its AI image-generation system in the United Kingdom. According to court documents filed on May 12, Getty Images accuses Stability AI of copyright infringement for using Getty’s images to train its Stable Diffusion system.
While Stability AI has not yet responded to Getty’s lawsuit, it previously filed a motion to dismiss a separate lawsuit brought by Getty in the United States. At present, Stability AI has not provided any comment on the matter.
A spokesperson for Getty stated that the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Getty’s case in London was initially filed in January, shortly after a class action lawsuit was initiated in California by artists against Stability AI and other companies operating in the rapidly expanding field of generative AI.
Stability AI, headquartered in London, introduced Stable Diffusion in August 2022. This AI-based system utilizes text inputs to generate images. The company, which disclosed raising over $100 million in funding, has been seeking additional investment, as indicated by reports cited in Getty’s U.S. lawsuit that valued Stability AI at approximately $4 billion.
In its lawsuit filed in London, Getty Images alleges that Stability AI has relied on the unauthorized use of Getty’s copyrighted material for the operation of its business. Getty is seeking damages of an unspecified amount and requesting that the High Court order Stability AI to surrender or destroy any versions of Stable Diffusion that may infringe upon Getty’s intellectual property rights.
