Online Artwork Copyright Infringement Cases on the Rise: Analysis from PAIL Solicitors, a Top Intellectual Property Law Firm

In the battle against online copyright infringement, leading boutique IP Law Firm PAIL Solicitors of London is taking the lead.

As the prevalence of online copyright breaches continues to rise, PAIL Solicitors, a prominent boutique niche law firm, discusses online artwork, particularly the increase of AI copyright infringement claims. PAIL Solicitors has been at the forefront of online and digital law for 25 years, and they focus on safeguarding creative works, such as artwork, graphics, and designs, from copyright infringement and unlawful online usage. When protecting their intellectual property, inventors rely on PAIL Solicitors. 

Contrary to popular belief that the internet is an open platform where anything can be seen in arts online, that might not be true. According to Peter Adediran, Founder and Attorney at PAIL Solicitors, most people either do not know or do not care that their use of artists’ work could possibly be infringing upon copyrights held by those artists themselves.” “An example is when you create content without permission from its owner,” said Adediran.

According to the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988, copyright owners have an exclusive right to copy, publish, distribute, and display their work. Any unauthorized use of these rights constitutes infringement; additionally, uploading an artwork to a website without permission constitutes making a copy of the work, thus infringing the copyright. In the case of Evans v John Lewis, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) Judge held a contrary view and thus dismissed the claim for infringement made against John Lewis’s Christmas advert and its accompanying illustrated children’s book, Excitable Edgar. PAIL Solicitors highlights the need to demonstrate access to the purportedly copied work and strong similarities that convince a reasonable individual that one work was taken from the other to succeed in copyright claims.

Peter Adediran notes that AI technologies are changing the intellectual property landscape by giving AI developers new creative abilities when it comes to creating content. However, recent copyright cases against AI developers show that these advances can present complex legal issues.

Adediran states that copyright lawsuits against AI developers in the UK and the US indicate changes in the legal environment surrounding the use of copyrighted material in AI development. He also states that recent copyright claims against AI developers in the UK and the US have highlighted thorny legal questions. To cite an example, on 27th December 2023, New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for infringing its copyrights. They claimed that their articles were unlawfully used by both companies in training ChatGPT- an artificial language model that is widely deployed. The publication asserts that this action amounts to an expropriation of their intellectual property without sufficient remuneration or acknowledgment. 

Also, in January 2023, Getty Images initiated legal action against Stability AI at the London High Court, stating infringement of intellectual property rights, among others; they accused Stability AI of training artificial intelligence tool Stable Diffusion with over twelve million images belonging to them through illegal copying and processing activities. The AI developer was denied permission to dismiss portions of the action by the High Court in December 2023, setting the stage for what may be a historic trial.

Conclusion

PAIL Solicitors, Media, and Entertainment Lawyers remain the market leader in the fight for intellectual property rights as copyright infringement cases evolve in a digital era. PAIL Solicitors has long been established as a foremost Intellectual Property Law Firm for over two and half decades. This success can be attributed to its unwavering dedication to innovation and passionate advocacy for clients, which is particularly important given the increasing number of copyright lawsuits. The firm’s legal professionals are adept at navigating the intricacies of digital copyright law. They are focused on delivering bespoke strategies that enhance, enforce, and protect intellectual property rights.

PAIL Solicitors offers clients fixed pricing and Rapid Response Services; for more information or to schedule a consultation, please see contact details.

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Company Name: PAIL Solicitors
Contact Person: Peter Adediran
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Country: United Kingdom
Website: https://www.pailsolicitors.co.uk/