Artists have amended a copyright lawsuit previously struck down by a U.S. judge against AI companies accused of violating creative copyright laws. The amended case adds seven new artists and provides more details about the alleged infringement. Companies including Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, and new defendant Runway AI are accused of creating AI systems that generate art in the style of artists when their names are used as prompts, leading to art indistinguishable from the artists' work. The artists claim that AI image products are primarily used as "copyright-laundering devices," providing benefits of art without artists' costs.


Visual artists have amended a copyright lawsuit against AI companies, including Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, and Runway AI, alleging creative misuse and copyright infringement. The amended case adds seven new artists and provides additional details about the alleged infringement, claiming that AI systems generate art indistinguishable from the artists' work when their names are used as prompts. The artists argue that AI image products are primarily used as "copyright-laundering devices," offering art benefits without the costs of artists.


Key Points:

  • A group of visual artists has amended a copyright lawsuit against AI companies accused of creative misuse and copyright infringement.

  • Companies including Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, and new defendant Runway AI are alleged to have produced AI systems that generate art in the style of artists when their names are used as prompts.

  • The amended case adds seven new artists, including H. Southworth, Grzegorz Rutkowski, Gregory Manchess, Gerald Brom, Jingna Zhang, Julia Kaye, and Adam Ellis.

  • The plaintiffs claim that users have generated art "indistinguishable" from the artists' work, and AI developers are described as using AI image products as "copyright-laundering devices."

  • Artists argue that AI image products provide the benefits of art without the costs of artists, and the reality is grubbier than developers describe.

  • The lawsuit alleges that Midjourney, with around 16.4 million users, has violated rights under federal trademark laws in the U.S., promoting a list of artists' names that can be used as generative prompts.

  • U.S. Judge William Orrick had previously dismissed parts of the case citing a lack of evidence but allowed the plaintiffs to reopen the claim in an updated version.


This amended copyright lawsuit by visual artists against AI companies accuses Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, and Runway AI of creative misuse, claiming that AI systems generate art indistinguishable from artists' work when their names are used as prompts. The artists assert that AI image products are used as "copyright-laundering devices," offering art benefits without artists' costs. The lawsuit adds seven new artists, and while parts were previously dismissed, the judge allowed the plaintiffs to reopen the claim, marking an ongoing battle over copyright infringement in the AI industry.


(SAVANNAH FORTIS, COINTELEGRAPH, 2023)