However, the judge allowed Andersen's complaint about unauthorized use of her 16 copyrighted works to proceed. The case highlights the complexities of copyright issues with AI image generators, as the training data used by these programs is often a "black box", with little known about the source of the images. The judge offered the plaintiffs a chance to amend and clarify their theory on how Stable Diffusion operates its training data.
Key takeaways:
- A judge in California has mostly dismissed copyright claims against AI image generators Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DeviantArt, brought by three artists.
- Two of the artists, Kelly McKernan and Karla Ortiz, did not register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office, causing immediate problems in their case.
- The judge offered the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend and clarify their theory on how Stable Diffusion operates its training data, stating it is "unclear" whether the company holds "compressed copies" of the images.
- Despite the overall dismissal, the judge allowed cartoonist and illustrator Sarah Andersen's complaint that her 16 copyrighted works were used without her authorization to move forward.