Getty Lawsuit Against Stable Diffusion
Getty Lawsuit Against Stable Diffusion
Getty Lawsuit Against Stable Diffusion
COMPLAINT
Plaintiff Getty Images (US), Inc. (“Getty Images” or “Plaintiff”), by and through its
undersigned attorneys, for its Complaint against Defendant Stability AI, Inc. (“Stability AI” or
NATURE OF ACTION
1. This case arises from Stability AI’s brazen infringement of Getty Images’
intellectual property on a staggering scale. Upon information and belief, Stability AI has copied
more than 12 million photographs from Getty Images’ collection, along with the associated
captions and metadata, without permission from or compensation to Getty Images, as part of its
efforts to build a competing business. As part of its unlawful scheme, Stability AI has removed
2. Getty Images brings this action to recover damages that it has suffered and is
continuing to suffer, and to prevent the irreparable harm caused by Stability AI’s intentional and
willful acts.
3. Getty Images is one of the world’s leading creators and distributors of digital
content. At great expense, over the course of nearly three decades, Getty Images has curated a
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collection of hundreds of millions of premium quality visual assets, most of which are still,
photographic images. Many of these images were created by Getty Images staff photographers
as works made-for-hire, others have been acquired by Getty Images from third parties with an
assignment of the associated copyrights, and the remainder have been licensed to Getty Images
throughout the world and in this District via websites, including but not limited to
www.gettyimages.com and www.istock.com. The visual assets on Getty Images’ websites are
accompanied by: (i) titles and captions which are themselves original and creative copyrighted
expression; (ii) watermarks with credit information and content identifiers that are designed to
deter infringing uses of the content; and (iii) metadata containing other copyright management
information.
5. Getty Images serves creative, corporate, and media customers in more than 200
countries around the world, and its imagery helps its customers produce work which appears
every day in the world’s most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films,
television programs, books and websites. In appropriate circumstances, and with safeguards for
the rights and interests of its photographers and contributors and the subjects of the images in its
collection, Getty Images also licenses the use of its visual assets and associated metadata in
connection with the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. Getty
Images has licensed millions of suitable digital assets to leading technology innovators for a
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6. Getty Images’ visual assets are highly desirable for use in connection with
artificial intelligence and machine learning because of their high quality, and because they are
Mostaque, a former hedge fund executive, as a for-profit company. According to recent press
reports, Stability AI recently raised more than $100 million from venture capital investors and is
already valued at $1 billion. On the back of intellectual property owned by Getty Images and
other copyright holders, Stability AI has created an image-generating model called Stable
offers a revenue-generating user interface called DreamStudio that is powered by its Stable
Diffusion model. DreamStudio enables users to obtain images from the Stable Diffusion model
on their own personal computers without the need for software installation or coding knowledge,
8. Rather than attempt to negotiate a license with Getty Images for the use of its
content, and even though the terms of use of Getty Images’ websites expressly prohibit
Stability AI, Stability AI has copied at least 12 million copyrighted images from Getty Images’
websites, along with associated text and metadata, in order to train its Stable Diffusion model.
Diffusion and its DreamStudio interface to those seeking creative imagery, and its infringement
of Getty Images’ content on a massive scale has been instrumental to its success to date.
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10. Upon information and belief, Stability AI was well aware that the content it was
scraping without permission from Getty Images’ websites was protected by copyright.
11. Often, the output generated by Stable Diffusion contains a modified version of a
Getty Images watermark, creating confusion as to the source of the images and falsely implying
an association with Getty Images. While some of the output generated through the use of Stable
Diffusion is aesthetically pleasing, other output is of much lower quality and at times ranges
from the bizarre to the grotesque. Stability AI’s incorporation of Getty Images’ marks into low
quality, unappealing, or offensive images dilutes those marks in further violation of federal and
12. Getty Images therefore brings this action alleging claims under the Copyright Act
of 1976, 17 U.S.C. §101 et seq., the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq., and Delaware
trademark and unfair competition laws to bring an end to Stability AI’s blatantly infringing
conduct and obtain redress for Stability AI’s callous disregard for its intellectual property rights.
PARTIES
13. Plaintiff Getty Images (US), Inc. is a New York corporation with headquarters in
Seattle, Washington. It is the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyrights subject to the
copyright infringement claims at issue and the owner of the trademarks at issue.
14. Upon information and belief, Defendant Stability AI, Inc. is a Delaware
corporation with headquarters in London, UK. Also upon information and belief, Defendant
Stability AI and Stability AI, Ltd., an affiliated entity, are alter egos of one another and operate
as a single enterprise. The two corporations share the same CEO and founder: Mr. Mostaque.
Upon information and belief, in addition to serving as CEO and Director of Stability AI, Inc.,
Mr. Mostaque controls 75% or more of the voting rights, 75% or more of the shares, and has the
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right to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors of Stability AI, Ltd. According to
Dunn & Bradstreet, Stability AI, Ltd. is a subsidiary of Stability AI and, as of November 2022,
Stability AI, Ltd.’s sole share was owned by Stability AI. Stability AI and Stability AI, Ltd. also
present themselves as a single enterprise: they are located at the same physical London address
15. This action arises under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. §101 et seq., the
Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq., and Delaware trademark and unfair competition laws.
This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338, and 1367.
16. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant Stability AI because Stability
AI is incorporated in Delaware.
Defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in this District. Venue is also proper in this District
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1400(a), because Stability AI or its agents reside or may be found in this
District.
A. Getty Images, Its Extensive Collection, and Its Worldwide Reputation for
Premium Visual Content
18. Getty Images is a preeminent global visual content creator and a leading source
for visual content around the world. Getty Images operates websites for the purpose of licensing
its works, including, inter alia, at www.gettyimages.com and www.istock.com. Its collection,
which currently contains hundreds of millions of visual assets, is renowned worldwide for its
unmatched depth, breadth, and quality. That visual content is included in a robust database (the
“Database”) that also contains detailed, original text titles and captions associated with the
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individual photographs and rich, image-specific metadata to provide the highest quality user
experience to customers and to ensure appropriate compensation for contributors and content
partners.
19. By visiting Getty Images’ websites, its customers and potential customers can
search and browse its collection before purchasing a license for specific content. For example,
customers looking for an image from a wedding might search “a couple exchanges rings.”
Among the search results, they might find the following image available for license with an
accompanying title that reads, “Valentine’s Day Group Wedding Held at Palm Beach County
Clerk’s Office,” a caption that reads, “A couple exchanges rings as they are wed during a group
Valentine's day wedding at the National Croquet Center on February 14, 2014 in West Palm
Beach, Florida” and a photo credit that reads “(Photo by Joe Readle/Getty Images)”:1
1
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/couple-exchanges-rings-as-they-are-wed-
during-a-group-news-
photo/469378943?phrase=a%20couple%20exchanges%20rings&adppopup=true.
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20. As the foregoing example reflects, the search results contain, in addition to
images responsive to the search terms, watermarks on the images to deter infringing uses, credits
and other metadata, and options for purchasing a license for further use.
21. Getty Images has more than 500,000 contributors (80,000 of which are exclusive
to Getty Images), over 300 premium content partners, more than 115 staff photographers,
videographers, and other content experts who guide and contribute to the creation of award-
winning content, and a unique and comprehensive visual archive collection covering a broad
range of subject matter. Contributors choose to work with Getty Images to benefit from its
reputation and goodwill as a preeminent content licensor, its robust platform, its global
distribution network, and the royalty income Getty Images generates for them.
22. Getty Images’ customers come to Getty Images for its easy-to-use platform, its
comprehensive suite of content (including certain types of content for which authorized copies
are exclusive to Getty Images), its variety of licensing options and services, and the assurance
that the images they obtain from Getty Images will not infringe third-party copyrights.
1. Copyright
23. Most of the images and videos displayed on Getty Images’ websites are original,
creative works that enjoy protection under U.S. copyright laws. For many of these visual assets,
including all of the assets subject to the copyright infringement claims at issue in this action,
Getty Images either owns the copyright or is an exclusive licensee; for others, Getty Images is a
non-exclusive licensee.
24. For purposes of the copyright infringement claims set forth herein and
establishing the unlawful nature of Stability AI’s conduct, Getty Images has selected 7,216
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examples from the millions of images that Stability AI copied without permission and used to
train one or more versions of Stable Diffusion. The copyrights for each of these images (as well
as for many other images) have been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. A list of these
25. As noted above, for the images displayed on its websites, Getty Images also
typically provides a detailed corresponding title and caption. Image titles and captions, which
are authored either by a Getty Images staff member or by an image contributor or partner,
typically reflect originality and creative choices. For example, for the image below, the
accompanying title reads, “Malnourished Sea Lions Continued To Be Rescued Off California
Shores” and the accompanying caption reads: “A sick and malnourished sea lion pup sits in an
enclosure at the Marine Mammal Center on March 18, 2015 in Sausalito, California. For the
third winter in a row, hundreds of sick and starving California sea lions are washing up on
California shores, with over 1,800 found and treated at rehabilitation centers throughout the state
since the beginning of the year. The Marine Mammal Center is currently caring for 224 of the
emaciated pups.”2
2
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sick-and-malnourished-sea-lion-pup-sits-in-
an-enclosure-at-news-photo/466716732
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26. Each of the images available through Getty Images’ websites has an associated
page that contains a unique URL pointing to a location where the image is stored together with
an “alt text” tag containing the image title and caption. The image URLs, titles, and captions,
along with other current metadata for each image, such as keywords and author and ownership
27. Getty Images has spent years coordinating and arranging the Database, including,
inter alia, by setting criteria for inclusion of images, selecting specific images for inclusion,
creating and incorporating detailed captions and other text paired with images, creating and
assigning unique asset identifiers that can be linked to specific contributors, and arranging the
contents of the Database so that the Database is searchable and results can be filtered.
Additionally, Getty Images has and continues to invest significantly in maintaining the contents
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of the Database. Between 2017 and 2020 alone, Getty Images and its affiliates invested more
28. Getty Images has registered its copyright of the Database with the United States
29. Getty Images’ name and trademarks are renowned in the U.S. and around the
world. Customers perform over 2.7 billion searches annually on the Getty Images’ websites,
which exist in 23 languages. Through its full range of content solutions, Getty Images served
over 836,000 purchasing customers in the last year alone, with customers from almost every
country in the world, ranging from media outlets, advertising agencies, and corporations of all
sizes to individual creators. Customers rely on Getty Images for the best content and service,
and trust the trademarks and service marks associated with its content.
30. Since its founding in 1995, Getty Images has been using its name and associated
marketing of its services and visual content, including the uses described above. Getty Images
has used its name and trademarks exclusively and extensively in the United States, and its
31. Getty Images uses its name and trademarks prominently on the Getty Images
websites. Each image available for viewing and purchase prominently displays a watermark that
above.
32. Getty Images owns trademarks registered on the Principal Register in the United
States Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) relating to its iconic brand. True and correct
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copies of the federal registration certificates evidencing Getty Images’ ownership of the
33. Getty Images also owns common law rights in the mark GETTY IMAGES.
Together with Getty Images’ federally registered trademarks, these are referred to collectively as
34. Stability AI accessed Getty Images’ collection of visual assets through Getty
Images’ public-facing websites. The Getty Images websites from which Stability AI copied
images without permission is subject to express terms and conditions of use which, among other
things, expressly prohibit, inter alia: (i) downloading, copying or re-transmitting any or all of the
website or its contents without a license; and (ii) using any data mining, robots or similar data
gathering or extraction methods. Such restrictions apply not only to the photographic images
and videos that Getty Images licenses, but also to the valuable and proprietary title and caption
information, keywords, and other metadata associated with the visual assets, all of which is
highly desirable for use in connection with developing AI tools such as Stable Diffusion.
35. Upon information and belief, Stability AI was founded in 2020 and is engaged in
the development of tools and models to generate digital content using artificial intelligence.
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36. Stability AI created and maintains a model called Stable Diffusion. Upon
information and belief, Stability AI utilizes the following steps from input to output:
model.
b. Second, Stability AI encodes the images, which involves creating smaller versions
of the images that take up less memory. Separately, Stability AI also encodes the
paired text. Stability AI retains and stores copies of the encoded images and text
c. Third, Stability AI adds visual “noise” to the encoded images, i.e., it further alters
represented because the images have been intentionally degraded in visual quality
visual noise to the existing images with associated text, Stability AI teaches the
d. Fourth, the model decodes the altered image and teaches itself to remove the noise
by comparing the decoded image to the original image and text descriptions that
have been copied and stored. By learning to decode noise, the model learns to
37. Upon information and belief, the third and fourth steps described in the preceding
paragraph are part of “training” the model to allow Stable Diffusion to understand the
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relationships between text and associated images and to use that knowledge to computationally
38. Stable Diffusion was trained on 5 billion image-text pairs from datasets prepared
by non-party LAION, a German entity that works in conjunction with and is sponsored by
Stability AI. Upon information and belief, Stability AI provided LAION with both funding and
significant computing resources to produce its datasets in furtherance of Stability AI’s infringing
scheme.
39. Upon information and belief, LAION created the datasets of image-text pairs used
by Stability AI by scraping links to billions of pieces of content from various websites, including
40. Upon information and belief, Stability AI followed links included in LAION’s
dataset to access specific pages on Getty Images’ websites and copied many millions of
copyrighted images and associated text. Such copying was done without Getty Images’
authorization and in violation of the express prohibitions against such conduct contained in its
41. Upon information and belief, Stability AI then created another copy of the content
42. Upon information and belief, Stability AI then created yet additional copies with
visual noise added, while retaining encoded copies of the original images without noise for
43. Upon information and belief, the unauthorized copies of Getty Images’ content
made by Stability AI are neither transitory nor ephemeral, and they were made with the express
aim of enabling Stability AI to supplant Getty Images as a source of creative visual imagery.
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44. To date, Getty Images has identified over 12 million links to images and their
associated text and metadata on its websites contained in the LAION datasets that were used to
train Stable Diffusion. Among the millions of links was a link to the photograph of the couple
exchanging rings displayed in paragraph 19 above as well as to each of the other images
identified in Exhibit A.
45. Getty Images’ content is extremely valuable to the datasets used to train Stable
Diffusion. Getty Images’ websites provide access to millions of high quality images and a vast
array of subject matter. High quality images such as those offered by Getty Images on its
websites are more useful for training an AI model such as Stable Diffusion than low quality
images because they contain more detail or data about the image that can be copied. By contrast,
a low quality image, such as one that has been compressed and posted as a small thumbnail on a
typical social media site, is less valuable because it only provides a rough, poor quality
framework of the underlying image and may not be accompanied by detailed text or other useful
metadata.
46. Stability AI has developed and released different versions of Stable Diffusion
over time, including, upon information and belief, to users located in Delaware. The core dataset
used to train Stable Diffusion version 2 was a subset of LAION 5B called LAION-Aesthetics,3
which was created to exclude images that were not sufficiently aesthetically pleasing.4 Targeting
its copying in this way allowed Stability AI to further benefit from Getty Images’ efforts over
many years to amass its renowned collection of high quality images and from the significant
3
https://stability.ai/blog/stable-diffusion-announcement.
4
https://laion.ai/projects/.
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investments required to generate such a collection and to develop and maintain the Database in
which it is stored.
47. Second, Getty Images’ websites include both the images and corresponding
detailed titles and captions and other metadata. Upon information and belief, the pairings of
detailed text and images has been critical to successfully training the Stable Diffusion model to
deliver relevant output in response to text prompts. If, for example, Stability AI ingested an
image of a beach that was labeled “forest” and used that image-text pairing to train the model,
the model would learn inaccurate information and be far less effective at generating desirable
outputs in response to text prompts by Stability AI’s customers. Furthermore, in training the
Stable Diffusion model, Stability AI has benefitted from Getty Images’ image-text pairs that are
not only accurate, but detailed. For example, if Stability AI ingested a picture of Lake Oroville
in California during a severe drought with a corresponding caption limited to just the word
“lake,” it would learn that the image is of a lake, but not which lake or that the photograph was
taken during a severe drought. If a Stable Diffusion user then entered a prompt for “California’s
Lake Oroville during a severe drought” the output image might still be one of a lake, but it would
be much less likely to be an image of Lake Oroville during a severe drought because the
synthesis engine would not have the same level of control that allows it to deliver detailed and
48. Upon information and belief, when Stability AI ingested the image below of Lake
Oroville with a corresponding caption that reads “A section of Lake Oroville is seen nearly dry
on August 19, 2014 in Oroville, California. As the severe drought in California continues for a
third straight year, water levels in the State's lakes and reservoirs is reaching historic lows. Lake
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Oroville is currently at 32 percent of its total 3,537,577 acre feet,”5 its use of the accompanying
text enabled the model to learn even more about the image and its contents and thus generate
output that competes with Getty Images’ own offerings much more effectively.
49. Once an artificial intelligence model like Stable Diffusion has been trained on
enough data to learn the relationship between text prompts and images, it can be used to generate
new images derived from the images and text the model’s creator has copied. For example, if a
model has been trained with image-text pairs of cats and image-text pairs of clothing, then a user
5
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/section-of-lake-oroville-is-seen-nearly-dry-
on-august-19-news-photo/453834006
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can use the text prompt “cat in a scarf” and the model will generate an image that looks like a cat
in a scarf:
50. To be clear, the image above is not a photograph of an actual cat wearing an
actual scarf. It is a computer-synthesized image that resembles a cat wearing a scarf. Upon
information and belief, Stability AI was able to generate the image above because it used enough
images of real cats paired with rich text captions and images of real scarves with rich text
captions to train Stable Diffusion that the model can generate this type of output. Stable
Diffusion is able to combine what it has learned to generate this artificial image, but only
because it was trained on proprietary content belonging to Getty Images and others.
51. As a result, Stable Diffusion at times produces images that are highly similar to
and derivative of the Getty Images proprietary content that Stability AI copied extensively in the
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course of training the model. Indeed, independent researchers have observed that Stable
Diffusion sometimes memorizes and regenerates specific images that were used to train the
model.6
52. In many cases, and as discussed further below, the output delivered by Stability
AI includes a modified version of a Getty Images watermark, underscoring the clear link
between the copyrighted images that Stability AI copied without permission and the output its
model delivers. In the following example, the image on the left is another original, watermarked
image copied by Stability AI and used to train its model and the watermarked image on the right
6
See, e.g., Nicholas Carlini et al., Extracting Training Data from Diffusion Models (2023),
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.13188.pdf; see also Gowthami Somepalli et al., Diffusion Art or
Digital Forgery? Investigating Data Replication in Diffusion Models (2022),
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2212.03860.pdf.
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53. Upon information and belief, Stability AI offers Stable Diffusion as open source
software, meaning that Stability AI permits third party developers to access, use, and further
develop the model without paying license fees to Stability AI. Those third parties benefit from
Stability AI’s infringement on Getty Images and, in turn, Stability AI benefits from the
54. While Stability AI has made Stable Diffusion open source, Stability AI is also
directly monetizing the tool through a commercial platform it calls DreamStudio. DreamStudio
allows customers to access Stable Diffusion to generate images without the need for any of their
own heavy-duty processing power, software installation, or coding knowhow. According to Mr.
Mostaque, Stability AI plans to further monetize Stable Diffusion by training and deploying
customized, non-open source versions of Stable Diffusion for customers for use on a large scale,
55. Upon information and belief, although Stability AI only released DreamStudio in
August 2022, millions of people already have used DreamStudio and collectively created
hundreds of millions of images. Yet Stability AI has not paid a cent to Getty Images or other
content owners from which it reproduced copyrighted content without permission to train its
56. The gravity of Stability AI’s brazen theft and freeriding is compounded by the
fact that, by utilizing Getty Images’ copyrighted content for artificial intelligence and machine
learning, Stability AI is stealing a service that Getty Images already provides to paying
customers in the marketplace for that very purpose. Getty Images has licensed millions of
7
https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/17/stability-ai-the-startup-behind-stable-diffusion-raises-
101m/.
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suitable digital assets for a variety of purposes related to artificial intelligence and machine
learning in a manner that respects personal and intellectual property rights. While Getty Images
has taken that same content from Getty Images without permission, depriving Getty Images and
its contributors of fair compensation, and without providing adequate protections for the privacy
public-facing websites contains a watermark that is intended to indicate provenance and prevent
infringement. The watermark includes both a Getty Images-owned mark and credit information
58. Upon information and belief, Stability AI has knowingly removed Getty Images’
watermarks from some images in the course of its copying as part of its infringing scheme. At
the same time, however, as discussed above, the Stable Diffusion model frequently generates
output bearing a modified version of the Getty Images watermark, even when that output is not
bona fide Getty Images’ content and is well below Getty Images’ quality standards. Examples of
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59. Making matters worse, Stability AI has caused the Stable Diffusion model to
incorporate a modified version of the Getty Images’ watermark to bizarre or grotesque synthetic
imagery that tarnishes Getty Images’ hard-earned reputation, such as the image below:
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60. Upon information and belief, Stability AI is well aware that Stable Diffusion
generates images that include distorted versions of Getty Images’ watermark and other
watermarks, but it has not modified its model to prevent that from happening.
61. Upon information and belief, unless enjoined by this Court, Stability AI intends to
continue to infringe upon Getty Images’ copyrights and trademarks and otherwise to profit from
its unauthorized use of Getty Images’ intellectual property. Getty Images has no adequate
remedy at law to redress all of the injuries that Stability AI has caused, and intends to continue to
cause, by its conduct. Getty Images will continue to suffer irreparable harm until Stability AI’s
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CLAIM I
62. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set
63. Getty Images is the owner or exclusive licensee of copyrights identified in Exhibit
A, and therefore is entitled to the exclusive rights under copyright law associated therewith,
64. Getty Images has obtained copyright registrations for each of the works identified
in Exhibit A.
65. Getty Images is the owner of, and has obtained a copyright registration for, the
Database.
66. Stability AI obtained access to the registered images and the associated titles,
captions, and other metadata in the Database through Getty Images’ websites.
67. By and through the actions alleged above, Stability AI has infringed and will
continue to infringe Getty Images’ copyrights by, inter alia, reproducing Getty Images’
copyrighted works and creating derivative works therefrom without any authorization from Getty
Images.
68. Stability AI’s acts of copyright infringement have been intentional, willful, and in
callous disregard of Getty Images’ rights. Stability AI knew at all relevant times that the content
on Getty Images’ websites is copyrighted, that Getty Images is in the business of licensing visual
content, and that its acts were in violation of the terms of use of those websites.
69. Stability AI engaged in the infringing acts described herein for its own
commercial benefit.
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70. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further acts of infringement and continuing to use and
distribute Stable Diffusion models trained using Getty Images’ copyrighted content without
permission, Stability AI will cause additional irreparable harm for which there is no adequate
remedy at law. Getty Images is thus entitled to permanent injunctive relief preventing Stability
AI, its agents, affiliates, employees and all persons acting in concert with it from engaging in any
71. Getty Images is further entitled to recover from Stability AI the damages it has
sustained and will sustain as a result of the infringing acts alleged above, together with any
additional profits obtained by Stability AI. The amount of such damages and profits cannot be
fully ascertained by Getty Images at present but will be established according to proof at trial.
72. For any infringing acts occurring after registration of the applicable Getty Images’
damages and any additional profits earned by Stability AI, to recover statutory damages of up to
73. Getty Images is entitled to recover its full costs in prosecuting its copyright
CLAIM II
74. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set
75. The watermarks that Getty Images applies to images made available on its public-
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facing websites constitute copyright management information for purposes of Section 1202 of
through use of Stable Diffusion and the DreamStudio interface, Stability AI has provided false
of false copyright management information has been done knowingly and with the intent to
77. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further acts of providing false copyright management
information, Stability AI will cause additional irreparable harm for which there is no adequate
remedy at law. Getty Images is thus entitled to permanent injunctive relief preventing Stability
AI, its agents, affiliates, employees and all persons acting in concert with it from providing false
78. Getty Images is further entitled to recover from Stability AI the damages it has
sustained and will sustain as a result of the unlawful acts alleged above, together with any
additional profits obtained by Stability AI. The amount of such damages and profits cannot be
fully ascertained by Getty Images at present but will be established according to proof at trial.
damages and any additional profits earned by Stability AI, to recover statutory damages of up to
80. Getty Images is entitled to recover its full costs and attorneys’ fees in prosecuting
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CLAIM III
81. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set
82. Stability AI has intentionally removed or altered Getty Images’ watermarks and
metadata associated with the images Stability AI impermissibly copied from Getty Images’
websites. Such watermarks and metadata contain copyright management information. Stability
AI’s removal or alteration of Getty Images’ copyright management information has been done
knowingly and with the intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement of Getty
Images’ copyrights.
83. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further acts of removing or altering copyright
management information, Stability AI will cause additional irreparable harm for which there is
no adequate remedy at law. Getty Images is thus entitled to permanent injunctive relief
preventing Stability AI, its agents, affiliates, employees and all persons acting in concert with it
84. Getty Images is further entitled to recover from Stability AI the damages it has
sustained and will sustain as a result of the unlawful acts alleged above, together with any
additional profits obtained by Stability AI. The amount of such damages and profits cannot be
fully ascertained by Getty Images at present but will be established according to proof at trial.
damages and any additional profits earned by Stability AI, to recover statutory damages of up to
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86. Getty Images is entitled to recover its full costs and attorneys’ fees in prosecuting
CLAIM IV
87. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set
88. Getty Images has expended substantial time, money, and resources collecting,
distributing, promoting, marketing, and advertising the millions of images it offers on its
89. The Getty Images Marks are in full force and effect. Getty Images has never
abandoned them, nor has Getty Images ever abandoned the goodwill of its businesses in
connection thereto. For example, Getty Images continues to use and prominently display Getty
Images Marks on its websites, as well as on and in connection with the many millions of images
it offers. Getty Images intends to continue to preserve and maintain its rights with respect to the
90. The Getty Images Marks are distinctive and have become associated in the minds
of the public with Getty Images, its brand, and its reputation for high-quality visual content.
91. The Getty Images Marks and the goodwill of the business associated with them in
the United States are of great and significant value to Getty Images.
92. Getty Images’ use of the Getty Images Marks and Stability AI’s infringing uses of
the same marks are in competitive proximity to one another, as they are both used in connection
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93. Stability AI’s unauthorized use of Getty Images Marks in connection with synthetic
images generated through the use of Stable Diffusion and DreamStudio constitutes trademark
infringement in violation of Section 32 of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C § 1114(1), as such use likely
has caused and will continue to cause members of the consuming public to be confused, mistaken
or deceived into believing that Getty Images has granted Stability AI the right to use the Getty
Images Marks and/or that Getty Images sponsored, endorsed, or is otherwise associated, affiliated,
or connected with Stability AI and its synthetic images, all to the damage and detriment of Getty
94. Upon information and belief, Stability AI is and has been at all relevant times
aware of Getty Images’ prior use, and/or ownership of the Getty Images Marks. Thus, Stability
AI’s conduct, as described above, is willful, intentional, in bad faith, and designed specifically to
permit Stability AI to profit from such misuse in violation of Getty Images’ rights in the Getty
Images Marks.
95. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further acts of trademark infringement, Stability AI will
cause additional irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Getty Images is
thus entitled to permanent injunctive relief preventing Stability AI, its agents, affiliates,
employees and all persons acting in concert with it from infringing the Getty Images Marks.
96. Getty Images is further entitled to recover from Stability AI the damages it has
sustained and will sustain as a result of the unlawful acts alleged above, together with the profits
obtained by Stability AI. The amount of such damages and profits cannot be fully ascertained by
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97. Getty Images is entitled to recover treble damages or profits, whichever is greater,
damages and profits earned by Stability AI, to recover statutory damages of up to $2,000,000 per
99. Getty Images is entitled to recover its full costs and attorneys’ fees in prosecuting
CLAIM V
Unfair Competition in Violation of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)
100. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set forth
101. Stability AI’s unauthorized use of the Getty Images Marks in connection with
synthetic images generated through the use of Stable Diffusion and DreamStudio constitutes
unfair competition and false designation of origin in violation of Section 43(a) of the Lanham
Act, 15 U.S.C § 1125(a), as such use likely has caused and will continue to cause members of the
consuming public to be confused, mistaken or deceived into believing that Getty Images has
granted Stability AI the right to use the Getty Images Marks and/or that Getty Images sponsored,
endorsed, or is otherwise associated, affiliated, or connected with Stability AI and its synthetic
images, all to the damage and detriment of Getty Images’ reputation and good will.
102. Upon information and belief, Stability AI is and has been at all relevant times
aware of Getty Images’ prior use, and/or ownership of the Getty Images Marks. Thus, Stability
AI’s conduct, as described above, is willful, intentional, in bad faith, and designed specifically to
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permit Stability AI to profit from such misuse in violation of Getty Images’ rights in the Getty
Images Marks.
103. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further acts of trademark infringement, Stability AI will
cause additional irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Getty Images is
thus entitled to permanent injunctive relief preventing Stability AI, its agents, affiliates,
employees and all persons acting in concert with it from competing unfairly with Getty Images.
104. Getty Images is further entitled to recover from Stability AI the damages it has
sustained and will sustain as a result of the unlawful acts alleged above, together with the profits
obtained by Stability AI. The amount of such damages and profits cannot be fully ascertained by
105. Getty Images is entitled to recover treble damages or profits, whichever is greater,
damages and profits earned by Stability AI, to recover statutory damages of up to $2,000,000 per
107. Getty Images is entitled to recover its full costs and attorneys’ fees in prosecuting
CLAIM VI
Trademark Dilution in Violation of Section 43(c) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)
108. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set forth
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110. Stability AI has used the Getty Images Marks in commerce, and Stability AI’s
commercial use of the Getty Images Marks commenced after those marks became famous.
111. Stability AI’s use of the Getty Images Marks on lower quality, and in some cases
bizarre or grotesque images, dilutes the quality of the Getty Images Marks by blurring or
tarnishment. Upon information and belief, Stability AI’s use of the Getty Images Marks on
lower quality, and in some cases bizarre or grotesque images, has been and continues to be
112. Stability AI’s unauthorized use of the Getty Images Marks in connection with
lower quality synthetic images generated through the use of Stable Diffusion and DreamStudio
constitutes trademark dilution in violation of Section 43(c) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C §
1125(c).
113. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further acts of trademark dilution, Stability AI will cause
additional irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Getty Images is thus
entitled to permanent injunctive relief preventing Stability AI, its agents, affiliates, employees
and all persons acting in concert with it from diluting the Getty Images Marks.
114. Getty Images is further entitled to recover from Stability AI the damages it has
sustained and will sustain as a result of the unlawful acts alleged above, together with the profits
obtained by Stability AI. The amount of such damages and profits cannot be fully ascertained by
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115. Getty Images is entitled to recover its full costs and attorneys’ fees in prosecuting
CLAIM VII
116. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set
117. Stability AI’s unauthorized use of the Getty Images Marks in connection with
synthetic images generated through the use of Stable Diffusion and DreamStudio constitutes a
deceptive trade practice in violation of Delaware law, as such use likely has caused and will
mistaken or deceived into believing that Getty Images has granted Stability AI the right to use
the Getty Images Marks and/or that Getty Images sponsored, endorsed, or is otherwise
associated, affiliated, or connected with Stability AI and its synthetic images, all to the damage
118. Upon information and belief, Stability AI is and has been at all relevant times
aware of Getty Images’ prior use, and/or ownership of the Getty Images Marks. Thus, Stability
AI’s conduct, as described above, is willful, intentional, in bad faith, and designed specifically to
permit Stability AI to profit from such misuse in violation of Getty Images’ rights in the Getty
Images Marks.
119. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further deceptive acts, Stability AI will cause additional
irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Getty Images is thus entitled to
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permanent injunctive relief preventing Stability AI, its agents, affiliates, employees and all
120. Getty Images is further entitled to recover from Stability AI treble the damages it
has sustained and will sustain as a result of Stability AI’s acts in violation of Delaware law. The
amount of such damages cannot be fully ascertained by Getty Images at present but will be
121. Getty Images is entitled to recover its full costs and attorneys’ fees in prosecuting
CLAIM VIII
122. Getty Images realleges and incorporates by reference herein the allegations set forth
124. Stability AI has used the Getty Images Marks in commerce, and Stability AI’s
commercial use of the Getty Images Marks commenced after those marks became famous.
125. Stability AI’s use of the Getty Images Marks on lower quality, and in some cases
bizarre or grotesque images, dilutes the quality of the Getty Images Marks by blurring or
tarnishment. Upon information and belief, Stability AI’s use of Getty Images Marks on lower
quality, and in some cases bizarre or grotesque images, has been and continues to be knowing,
126. Stability AI’s unauthorized use of the Getty Images Marks in connection with
lower quality synthetic images generated through the use of Stable Diffusion and DreamStudio
constitutes trademark dilution in violation of Section 3313 of the Delaware Trademark Act.
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127. As a direct and proximate result of Stability AI’s wrongful conduct, Getty Images
has been substantially and irreparably harmed in an amount not readily capable of determination
and, unless permanently enjoined from further acts of trademark dilution, Stability AI will cause
additional irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Getty Images is thus
entitled to permanent injunctive relief preventing Stability AI, its agents, affiliates, employees
and all persons acting in concert with it from diluting the Getty Images Marks.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Getty Images respectfully requests judgment in its favor and
information;
dilution, and deceptive trade practices were willful and in bad faith;
infringe Getty Images copyrights and trademarks unless enjoined from doing so;
employees, successors and assigns, and all persons, firms and corporations acting
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in concert with it, from directly or indirectly infringing Getty Images’ copyrights,
K. Ordering the destruction of all versions of Stable Diffusion trained using Getty
for Stability AI’s profits, gains, advantages, and the value of the business
M. Entering judgment for Getty Images against Stability AI for all damages suffered
by Getty Images and for any profits to or gain by Stability AI attributable to its
§ 1202
N. Entering judgment for Getty Images against Stability AI for all damages suffered
infringement and dilution of Getty Images trademark and its unfair competition
and deceptive trade practices in amounts to be determined at trial, with the greater
O. Entering judgment for Getty Images for statutory damages for Stability AI’s
management information;
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P. Entering judgment for Getty Images for statutory damages for Stability AI’s
S. Granting such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
36