Stability AI Found Liable for Trademark Misuse in Getty Case, Escapes Copyright Blame
Nov/09/2025
Stability AI was found to have infringed Getty Images’ trademark by generating pictures that reproduced Getty’s signature watermark, though it avoided broader copyright liability in a closely watched U.K. case. The High Court ruled that Stable Diffusion, the company’s generative AI tool, unlawfully used Getty’s mark in synthetic images—misleadingly suggesting an association with the stock-photo giant. However, the court rejected Getty’s claim that the model 'copied' protected works during training, finding insufficient evidence that Stable Diffusion stores or reproduces copyrighted content. While Getty’s legal challenge was expected to establish a precedent on AI training and copyright, the outcome instead narrows the focus to brand misuse and deceptive image generation. The company will now look to its ongoing U.S. case for a broader test of how far intellectual property law can reach into the opaque workings of AI models.
