Getty Images Faces Setback in Legal Battle with Stability AI

Getty Images suffered a major setback in its lawsuit against Stability AI, according to a ruling in London's High Court. The Seattle-based company alleged that its copyrighted images were used without permission to train Stability AI's image-generating system, Stable Diffusion.

However, the case took a turn mid-trial when Getty dropped a crucial part, citing insufficient evidence about where the AI system was trained. The initial focus was on copyright breach, arguing that the AI model reproduced Getty's copyrighted images.

Judge Joanna Smith ruled that Getty had a partial win in the area of trademark infringement, but dismissed the secondary copyright infringement claims. As the ruling emerged, Getty's shares fell by 6.6% in premarket trading, raising questions about the broader implications for AI and copyright law.