Getty Images Bans AI-Generated Art Over Copyright Risks
Getty Images prohibits the upload and sale of AI-generated artwork due to unresolved copyright issues surrounding the training data used by artificial intelligence tools. The company actively removes existing AI content while allowing traditional digital editing software.
Getty Images bans the upload and sale of all artwork created by artificial intelligence tools like DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. The stock photography giant takes this step to avoid potential legal complications tied to the rapidly evolving technology. Effective immediately, the company removes all previously submitted AI-generated content from its platform.
The company cites open questions regarding the copyright of AI-generated outputs and unaddressed rights issues with the underlying imagery. Because AI models train by scraping and remixing the work of human artists from the internet, selling these AI creations presents significant legal risks. Getty Images wants to protect itself from this legal quicksand rather than navigate uncertain intellectual property laws.
This new policy does not impact traditional digital editing tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, nor does it ban standard 3D renderings. The ban specifically targets content generated entirely by AI models. As the debate over AI art and artist disenfranchisement grows, Getty Images positions itself as a protector of original human creativity.