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Getty Images v Stability AI

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Case Information
Case name Getty Images v. Stability AI[1]
Court U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California[1]
Docket 3:25-cv-06891-TLT; earlier Delaware action 1:23-cv-00135[1]
Filed February 3, 2023 (Delaware); August 14, 2025 (California refiling)[1]
Judge(s) Trina L. Thompson[1]
Plaintiffs Getty Images (US), Inc.[1]
Defendants Stability AI Ltd.; Stability AI, Inc.; Stability AI US Services Corporation[1]
Case type Civil intellectual-property action[1]
Claims / issues Copyright infringement; false CMI under DMCA § 1202(a); trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition[1]
Status April 23, 2026: dismissal motion granted in part. The false-CMI claim was dismissed with leave to amend and was not reasserted by the May 21 answer; other challenged claims survived. Later developments have not been verified.[1][2]

Getty Images (US), Inc. v. Stability AI, Inc. is a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Getty Images against Stability AI in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Stability AI trained its Stable Diffusion image generation model on millions of Getty's copyrighted images without authorization, and that the AI system reproduces modified versions of Getty's content.[3]


April 23, 2026: dismissal motion granted in part. The false-CMI claim was dismissed with leave to amend and was not reasserted by the May 21 answer; other challenged claims survived. Later developments have not been verified.[1][2]

Procedural History

The case was originally filed in the District of Delaware and later refiled in the Northern District of California. Stability AI moved to dismiss the complaint; Judge Thompson heard arguments on the motion on April 7, 2026.[3]

On April 24, 2026, Judge Thompson issued her ruling on Stability AI's motion to dismiss. The court denied most of the motion, allowing the core copyright infringement claims to proceed to discovery. The only claim dismissed was Getty's DMCA Section 1202(a) claim for intentional removal of copyright management information (CMI), which the court found lacked sufficient allegations of specific intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement. The court stated: "However, the four corners of the Complaint lack allegations to suggest a specific intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal the infringement."[3]

Judge Thompson permitted Getty Images to amend its DMCA CMI claim in light of the ruling, providing a path for Getty to refile this claim with additional factual allegations supporting intentional removal.[3]

The parties have also agreed to private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) 30 days after the close of discovery.[3]

Significance

The case is one of the highest-profile AI copyright cases, involving direct allegations that a major image generation AI was trained on millions of copyrighted images without authorization. The court's decision to allow the core copyright claims to survive the motion to dismiss stage is a significant win for copyright holders, as it means the case will proceed to discovery and potentially to trial.[3]

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Court filing / case record, reviewed September 7, 2026
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Court filing / case record, reviewed September 7, 2026
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 ChatGPT is Eating the World, Getty Images v. Stability AI coverage
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