Getty Images v Stability AI: lawmakers must now deliver clear answers and fairer frameworks
Partner Nick Eziefula discusses the landmark Getty Images v Stability AI decision, highlighting the need to bring copyright law in line with the realities of large-scale AI training and use, in the Financial Times, City AM, Complete Music Update, World Trademark Review and Business Cloud.
"Today's decision will frustrate many in the creative industries, who are calling for stronger, modernised copyright protections against the unauthorised use of their work by AI developers.
"Crucially, the judgment does not address some central copyright issues: whether using copyright material to train AI models amounts to infringement, and whether AI-generated outputs can themselves infringe. Getty dropped its claims on those key issues due to jurisdictional hurdles, as much of the AI training occurred in the US.
"Instead, Getty pursued a narrower argument - that bringing an AI model trained on unlicensed works into the UK was akin to importing infringing copies. The judge disagreed, ruling that existing laws, drafted in an era of physical piracy, cannot easily be stretched to cover AI systems that do not store copies of the original works.
"This case underscores a growing gap between old copyright law and new technology. The creative sector is now looking to lawmakers - and future court battles - to deliver clearer answers and fairer frameworks for ethical, transparent AI innovation."
Nick's comments were published in the Financial Times, City AM, Complete Music Update and World Trademark Review, 4 November 2025, and Business Cloud, 5 November 2025.
