AI-generated works in the creative industries are becoming increasingly prevalent, but their legal status and ownership remain highly contentious. Does the originality of AI-generated works qualify for legal protection? If so, who should hold the copyright—AI developers, users, or another party? This article will focus on two landmark cases involving copyright infringement of AI-generated works and the corresponding rulings by Chinese courts, providing practical insights into protecting intellectual property rights for AI-generated creations.

Case 1: AI-Generated Image Copyright Infringement: Legal Nature and Ownership Determination of AI-Generated Content

Case Summary

In February 2023, lawyer and AI art enthusiast Li Yunkai used the Stable Diffusion model to generate a series of portrait images by inputting specific prompts and adjusting parameters such as image size, guidance scale, and random seeds. He published one of the generated images, "Spring Breeze Brings Tenderness," on the social media platform Xiaohongshu.

On March 2, a Baijiahao social media account published an article titled "Love in March Blooms with Peach Blossoms," using Li's AI-generated image without permission and removing his watermark. Li believed this infringed his right of attribution and his right to network dissemination.

Li filed a lawsuit against the user, Liu, in the Beijing Internet Court on May 25, 2023, seeking an apology, a public statement to mitigate the impact, and compensation of 5,000 RMB for economic losses.

Court Decisions

The defendant shall, within seven days from the effective date of this judgment, publish a statement on the Baijiahao account involved in this case to apologize to the plaintiff, Li Yunkai, formally. The statement shall remain published for no less than 24 hours to mitigate the impact (the statement's content must be reviewed and approved by this court). Suppose the defendant fails to comply within the stipulated time. In that case, this court will select a nationally circulated newspaper or the court's official website to publish the main content of this judgment, with the costs borne by the defendant.

Additionally, the defendant shall compensate the plaintiff, Li Yunkai, for economic losses of 500 RMB within seven days of the effective date of this judgment. The court rejects all other claims by the plaintiff.

Case 2: "Midjourney and PS Generate the 'Accompany Heart' Case"

Case Summary

The plaintiff, Lin Chen, created the art piece "Accompanying Heart" (Registration No. 国作登字-2023-F-00059862) on February 14, 2023, and publicly published it through their Xiaohongshu account. The work gained widespread recognition, achieved significant popularity, and was well-received by the public. According to the Copyright Law, the author automatically obtains copyright upon completing a work. As the creator, the plaintiff is the legal copyright holder of the artwork and enjoys complete protection under the Copyright Law, as the work remains within its protection period.

Without authorization, the plaintiff discovered that Defendant 1, Hangzhou Gauss Air Membrane Technology Co., Ltd. produced and sold a "Heart-Shaped Inflatable Structure" product under their 1688 store under the same company name. Defendant 1 also used the plaintiff's artwork on the product's promotional pages. A comparison revealed that Defendant 1's "Heart-Shaped Inflatable Structure" is identical or substantially similar to the plaintiff’s art piece, infringing upon the plaintiff’s copyright. Additionally, Defendant 1 promoted the infringing product through their Xiaohongshu account, WeChat Channels, and official website.

Furthermore, the plaintiff discovered that Defendant 2, Changshu Qinhong Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., also used the plaintiff's artwork without authorization in their WeChat public account, “Suzhou Qinqu Creek Garden City,” and Xiaohongshu account. Starting September 25, 2023, Defendant 2 placed the infringing "Heart-Shaped Inflatable Structure" within their Qinqu Creek commercial project as a landmark to attract visitors under the theme "Heart on the Creek." A comparison revealed that Defendant 2’s "Heart-Shaped Inflatable Structure" is identical or substantially similar to the plaintiff’s art piece, further infringing upon the plaintiff’s copyright.

Court Decisions

1. The defendant infringed the plaintiff’s copyright. However, copyright protects original expressions, not ideas or concepts. Since the installation from the defendant is a reinterpretation of the original image, it does not constitute infringement.

2. Defendant Hangzhou Gauss Air Membrane Technology Co., Ltd. is ordered to publicly apologize to the plaintiff, Lin Chen, through its Xiaohongshu account for three consecutive days starting from the effective date of this judgment. The content of the apology must be approved by this court.

3. Defendants Hangzhou Gauss Air Membrane Technology Co., Ltd. and Changshu Qinhong Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. are jointly ordered to compensate the plaintiff, Lin Chen, for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling RMB 10,000 within five days from the effective date of this judgment.

4. The court dismisses the plaintiff Lin Chen’s other claims.

Summary

For an AI-generated work to meet the court's intellectual effort, originality, and artistic merit criteria, creators must consider the following conditions.

1: Intellectual Effort:

• The creator must demonstrate autonomous decision-making in generating the work, such as creating novel designs, selecting unique elements, or determining the process without direct human intervention.
  
• The AI's algorithm or training data must include processes enabling innovation beyond replication or randomness.
  

2: Originality:

• The work should showcase distinct and unprecedented features, not directly replicating existing data or outputs.
  
• The creator must be able to generate individualized, non-trivial patterns or compositions that cannot be easily attributed to AI’s training data.
  

3: Artistic Merit:

• The work should possess aesthetic value and be capable of evoking human emotional or intellectual responses.
  
• The design process must align with recognized artistic principles, contributing to cultural or creative discourse, even if the approach differs from human creativity.
  

Copyright holders (creators/owners) and AI platform users must proactively and effectively protect their copyrights when using AI platforms. The following are tailored suggestions for both groups: Measures on the Administration of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services (Draft for Solicitation of Comments), Copyright Law, and the China Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL).

For Copyright Holders

1: Understand How AI Uses Copyrighted Works:

• Review the terms and conditions of AI platforms to see how the platforms use your content for training models.
  
• Verify the platform includes your content in training datasets without consent.
  

2: Protect and Monitor Your Works:

• Copyright Registration and Design Patent Protection: To strengthen your legal standing in disputes, you should officially register your work in relevant jurisdictions, including copyright registration and design patent application.
  
• Digital Watermarking: Embed invisible watermarks in digital content (images, videos, or text) to detect unauthorized use in AI training or outputs.
  
• Content Monitoring Tools: Use tools to scan and identify unauthorized use of your work in AIGC-generated content.
  

3: Licensing and Usage Agreements:

• Clearly specify licensing terms when granting AI platforms access to your content.
  
• Require royalties, recognition, or restrictions on use, particularly in datasets for training models.
  

4: Legal Action Against Unauthorized Use: If your work is used without authorization, pursue legal recourse under copyright infringement laws. Some jurisdictions also provide statutory damages for such cases.

For AI Platform Users

Understand Copyright Rules and Platform Policies:

Avoid generating or using AIGC outputs that infringe on copyrighted materials unless permitted by law or licenses.

Use Public Domain or Licensed Content:

• When generating content, rely on inputs from public domain materials or content licensed for commercial or creative use.
  
• Use tools or datasets explicitly labeled as "copyright-free" or "open source."
  

Document Content Creation:

• Maintain records of the AI tools used and the process of creating content to prove originality or compliance in case of disputes.
  
• For critical projects, use platforms with robust tracking and documentation features.
  

Avoid Sensitive Content:

• Do not input copyrighted materials into the AI system unless you have explicit permission from the rights holder.
  
• Generate content that is transformative enough to avoid potential infringement claims.Generate content that is transformative enough to avoid potential infringement claims.
  

If you are uncertain about the legal implications of using AIGC, consult with Jiaquan IP attorneys to minimize risks.