Woman in China fined for infringing on copyright for using picture created using AI software
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — In a first, the Beijing Internet Court has ruled that it was an infringement of copyright to use a picture created with generative artificial intelligence (AI) software on a third party's online platform.
The court ordered the defendant, identified by her surname Liu, to compensate the plaintiff, identified as Li, 500 yuan (RM327.47) and issue a statement of apology on social media platforms in seven days from the date of the judgement, Global Times reported.
During the trial, it was heard that Li had created a woman’s picture by inputting a series of descriptive words into the AI image generator, and published the picture on an online platform.
The picture was then used by Liu as an illustration for her poem on her personal account, leading Li to file a lawsuit against Liu for copyright infringement and violation of information network transmission rights.
The hearing generated much interest so much so it was broadcasted by the China Central Television and also livestreamed on multiple platforms that attracted more than 170,000 viewers.
In its decision, the court said creators have the copyright over the generated images and they are protected by copyright law.
It also emphasised that in accordance with the principle of good faith and the need to protect the public’s right to information, the plaintiff should have remarked on the picture whether it was created using artificial intelligence or models.
In his suit, Li said Liu did not obtain his authorisation to use the picture and removed the watermark of his signature on the picture, misleading social media users that Liu had created the picture.
He had initially demanded Liu to compensate him 5,000 yuan (RM3,299.56) in economic losses and an apology.
In her defence, Liu argued that she found the picture by searching on the internet and used it as an illustration for her poetry works.
The main content for her post was her poem instead of Li's picture.
Since there was no commercial purpose for the post, she did not have any intention to infringe upon Li’s rights.
