A copyright infringement lawsuit targeting multiple artificial intelligence (AI) tool developers has been revised, with artists and their legal representatives asserting continued misuse of their creative works.
The updated lawsuit, filed on November 29, revisited a case previously dismissed by a U.S. judge and introduced seven new artists while presenting more detailed claims regarding alleged copyright violations.
The amended class action suit now includes H. Southworth, Grzegorz Rutkowski, Gregory Manchess, Gerald Brom, Jingna Zhang, Julia Kaye, and Adam Ellis as new artists joining the legal action.
The lawsuit alleges that Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, and the newly added defendant Runway AI have developed systems capable of generating art in the style of an artist when prompted by the artist's name as input into the AI.
According to the plaintiffs, the art produced by users through these AI systems closely resembles their original works, claiming that these AI graphic tools are effectively used for "copyright laundering," falsely offering customers access to art without compensating the artists.
Additionally, the lawsuit accuses Midjourney, a popular AI tool boasting around 16.4 million users as per its website, of violating the artists' rights under U.S. federal trademark law. Midjourney's alleged practice of using more than 4,700 artist names, including some of the plaintiffs, as generating prompts on its website, was also highlighted in the legal filing.
Certain portions of this case had been previously dismissed due to insufficient evidence, as ruled by U.S. Judge William Orrick. However, recent updates have prompted the judge to permit the plaintiffs to refile their claims with new or enhanced details. This lawsuit is one of several filed against various AI developers in the industry, all centering on allegations of copyright infringement. Notable cases involve tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta.
