In the Decrypt article “Judge Allows Copyright Case Against AI Image Generators to Move Forward,” litigation partner Mark Lezama offered his perspective on the latest developments in the ongoing lawsuit brought by a group of artists against several AI image developers, including Stability AI.
The article focuses on the most recent updates in the case, including the presiding U.S. district court judge’s denial of the defendants’ motion to dismiss claims of copyright infringement leveled against them.
While acknowledging that the judge’s decision to allow the copyright infringement claims is a victory for the artists, Lezama points out that the fight is still far from over. “The court declined to dismiss some of the artists’ claims—that means those claims survive the pleading stage, and the artists live to fight another day,” he said. “But the artists didn’t have to address what may be their biggest hurdle: a fair use defense.”
Lezama continued, “The court repeatedly emphasized that it would need to assess fair use on an evidentiary record. For the moment, that’s a victory for the artists, who get to unlock the doors to discovery and gather evidence to support their theories. But the court also pointed out that the AI companies could test fair use on summary judgment.”
While the plaintiffs will have their chance to argue against Stability AI’s claim that any use of copyrighted material to train its image developer tools falls under fair use, Lezama says, “If the defendants are successful on summary judgment, the artists won’t see a jury.”
Read the full article here.
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