Getty Images is set to begin a landmark copyright lawsuit against the artificial intelligence company Stability AI at London’s High Court on Monday. This case is expected to establish an important legal precedent regarding AI and copyright law. Getty Images, a Seattle-based company known for its editorial content and creative stock photos and videos, alleges that Stability AI infringed its copyrights by using Getty’s images to train its Stable Diffusion system, which creates images from text prompts. Getty claims that Stability AI unlawfully scraped millions of images from its websites to develop and train this AI technology.

Stability AI, which has raised hundreds of millions in funding and recently secured investment from the global advertising giant WPP, denies these allegations and argues that the dispute centers on innovation and the freedom of ideas. A spokesperson for Stability AI said that artists using their tools create works based on collective human knowledge, which they say aligns with principles of fair use and freedom of expression.

Getty is also pursuing a parallel lawsuit against Stability AI in the United States. This lawsuit is among several ongoing cases worldwide addressing the use of copyrighted materials to train AI models, a debate that has intensified since AI tools like ChatGPT became widely accessible over the past two years. The creative industries are struggling to address the legal and ethical challenges posed by AI systems that generate new works after being trained on existing content. Public figures, including Elton John, have called for stronger protections for artists in this new technological landscape.

Legal experts believe Getty’s case will have a significant impact on copyright law and could influence future government policies related to AI and intellectual property. Rebecca Newman, a lawyer not involved in the case, described the situation as uncharted legal territory and said the ruling will be crucial in defining the scope of copyright protections in the AI era. She also noted that a win for Getty could lead to more lawsuits against AI developers like Stability AI. Another legal expert, Cerys Wyn Davies, suggested that the High Court’s decision could have major implications for market practices and influence how attractive the UK is as a location for AI development.