Andersen, et al. v. Stability AI Ltd., et al.

Overview

Filed January 13, 2023 in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California.

Summary: The plaintiffs filed suit against generative-AI companies Stability AI (creator of Stable Diffusion), Midjourney (creator of Midjourney), DeviantArt (creator of DreamUp), and Runway AI (involved in creating Stable Diffusion) for copyright infringement, DMCA violations, and related state law claims. They allege that the defendants used their (and other artists’) works to train AI without obtaining their permission. According to the plaintiffs, when the defendants’ AI tools create a “new” work, they are actually creating an infringing derivative work. The plaintiffs seek to bring their suit as a class action on behalf of everyone in the U.S. that owns a copyright in any work that was used to train any version of the AI tools.

Status: The defendants filed motions to dismiss and strike the complaint on April 18, 2023. The court ruled on October 30, 2023, granting the motions to dismiss in full, except for the direct copyright infringement claim asserted by Anderson against Stability. It also allowed the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend their complaint and deferred ruling on the motion to strike until the plaintiffs’ right to publicity claim is realleged.

On February 8, 2024, the court denied the renewed motion to strike and the defendants filed motions to dismiss the plaintiffs’ amended complaint, which the court granted in part and denied in part on August 12, 2024. On October 31, 2024, the second amended complaint was filed.

Bottom Line: The plaintiffs focus on how the AI tools can create art “in the style of” an existing artist, and they label these creations as infringing derivative works. Copyright infringement requires copying, so the plaintiffs will have to convince the court that a completely new piece of art “in the style of” an existing artist could be categorized as “copying” that artist. Ideas (and styles) cannot be copyrighted—only expressions of ideas or styles can be. But even if copyright infringement occurred, fair use will be a strong defense given the transformative nature of the outputs of the AI tools. Along with Thaler v. Perlmutter, this case has the potential to have far-reaching impacts in copyright law.

🚨Judge allows part of artists' lawsuit against AI companies to go forward. pic.twitter.com/Go6ErKekAr

— Michael Eshaghian, Esq. (@LAIPAttorney) August 13, 2024

Yesterday was a big day in the copyright infringement case against @StabilityAI, @midjourney, @DeviantArt, and @runwayml.

The court denied DeviantArt's renewed motion to strike, which argued that the lawsuit against it was based on protected First Amendment activity under…

— Michael Eshaghian, Esq. (@LAIPAttorney) February 9, 2024

📰 @StabilityAI files a motion to dismiss the complaint filed by a collection of artists in January 2023 accusing it of copyright infringement and related claims.

This is the first time in the lawsuit we get to see how Stability AI wants to shape the narrative.

Overarching…

— Michael Eshaghian, Esq. (@LAIPAttorney) April 18, 2023

Docket

Selected filings from the docket, available for free, are below. The full docket can be accessed via Court Listener.

1/13/2023 - Complaint

4/18/2023 - DeviantArt’s Motion to Dismiss

4/18/2023 - DeviantArt’s Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike

4/18/2023 - Stability AI’s Motion to Dismiss

4/18/2023 - Midjourney’s Motion to Dismiss and Strike

4/18/2023 - Stability AI’s Amended Motion to Dismiss

6/2/2023 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to DeviantArt’s Motion to Dismiss

6/2/2023 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to DeviantArt’s Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike

6/2/2023 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Stability AI’s Motion to Dismiss

6/2/2023 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Midjourney’s Motion to Dismiss and Strike

7/3/2023 - Stability AI’s Reply ISO Motion to Dismiss

7/3/2023 - Midjourney’s Reply ISO Motion to Dismiss and Strike

7/3/2023 - DeviantArt’s Reply ISO Motion to Dismiss

7/3/2023 - DeviantArt’s Reply ISO Motion to Strike

10/30/2023 - Order or Motions to Dismiss and Strike

11/29/2023 - First Amended Complaint

12/20/2023 - DeviantArt’s Motion to Renew Motion to Strike

1/10/2024 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Renew Motion to Strike

1/17/2024 - DeviantArt’s Reply ISO Motion to Renew Motion to Strike

2/8/2024 - Midjourney’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

2/8/2024 - Stability AI’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

2/8/2024 - DeviantArt’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

2/8/2024 - Runway AI’s Motion to Dismiss FAC 

2/8/2024 - Order Denying DeviantArt’s Renewed Motion to Strike

3/21/2024 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Stability AI’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

3/21/2024 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Runway AI’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

3/21/2024 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Midjourney’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

3/21/2024 - Plaintiffs’ Opposition to DeviantArt’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

4/18/2024 - Reply ISO Midjourney’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

4/18/2024 - Reply ISO Stability AI’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

4/18/2024 - Reply ISO DeviantArt’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

4/18/2024 - Reply ISO Runway AI’s Motion to Dismiss FAC

8/12/2024 - Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motions to Dismiss First Amended Complaint

10/31/2024 - Second Amended Complaint