Getty takes Stability AI to UK court over photo copyrights

June 9, 2025 – London. Getty Images formally launched its UK lawsuit against Stability AI in the High Court today. The stock-photo giant claims Stability AI trained its image generator, Stable Diffusion, by scraping millions of Getty’s photographs from its websites, violating copyright and database protections

Getty also brought a separate infringement suit in the U.S., but today’s hearing represents the first major legal confrontation over how far AI companies can go when pulling content from the internet. Stability AI denies wrongdoing, arguing its model leans on creative freedom and fair use—spreading ideas, rather than copying them .

Lawyers on both sides told the court that today’s arguments go far beyond Getty and Stability AI. Experts warn that the ruling could redefine copyright limits on large?scale data scraping—a practice common in training generative AI systems ever since ChatGPT emerged in late 2022 .

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Public figures like Elton John have voiced support for tighter rules, urging better protection for creators . Rebecca Newman of Addleshaw Goddard says this case “will be pivotal in setting the boundaries of the monopoly granted by UK copyright in the age of AI”. Cerys Wyn Davies from Pinsent Masons adds that the ruling could influence whether the UK remains competitive as a tech?friendly jurisdiction.

Getty insists it welcomes AI innovation—but wants developers to license content instead of scraping without permission . Stabililty counters that its tools empower artists, drawing on shared human knowledge.

Over the next few weeks, judges will parse residence and fair-dealing loopholes. A ruling for Getty could encourage more lawsuits and influence Europe’s push on copyright reform. A loss might affirm generative AI’s freedom to build on existing work—potentially triggering licensing deals on scale.

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