Wuhan court backs netizen in AI art dispute

A court in Wuhan, Hubei province, recently ruled in favor of a netizen whose AI-generated art was used in an advertisement without permission.

The plaintiff, surnamed Wang, created an image using AI and released it on the social media platform Xiaohongshu on May 17 last year. The post received 35,000 likes and about 660 comments.

On June 20, Wang noticed her image in an advertisement from a tech company about AI painting training courses on Douyin.

She claimed that although the image was generated by AI, she conceived the idea, inputted the keywords and made adjustments during its production. According to her, even if multiple sources coincidentally input matching keywords, the images generated would be unique.

She also said she registered the image's copyright on May 26.

The people's court of the Donghu High-Tech Development Zone in Wuhan held that the image generated by Wang is no different from photos or paintings commonly seen by people. It clearly belongs to the realm of art, possesses a distinct expressive form, and is thus protected by copyright law.

The court drew a connection between the posted image and Wang's creative process. She used keywords that corresponded to the image's effects and elements, resulting in a unique "mapping" between the generated image and her creative actions.

Throughout the process of setting and adjusting keywords, parameters, style and lighting effects, and selecting images to inform the final disputed image, Wang exercised a degree of "control and foresight" over the generated works. The creative process reflects Wang's conception, artistic techniques and aesthetic choices, thus showcasing her personalized expression.

Therefore, the disputed image encapsulates Wang's intellectual labor and should be protected. Wang is the author and copyright owner of the disputed images and has the right to bring this lawsuit, the court said.

The company used the image for online promotion, giving the public undue access to it and violating Wang's right to disseminate the image. For this, the court announced that the company should compensate Wang with 4,000 yuan ($547) for economic losses and reasonable expenses.

After the initial judgment was made, neither party appealed, and the judgment became legally binding.