Chinese court upholds copyright protection for AI-generated images
A Chinese court ruled that AI-generated images can be protected as original works under copyright law when the user exercises control over the generation process through keyword input and parameter adjustment. The court found a technology company liable for using a creator's AI images in commercial promotions without permission and ordered it to pay damages.
What happened
In May 2024, an AI content creator (Wang) published AI-generated images using certain AI software on a social media platform. In June 2024, Wang discovered a Wuhan technology company had posted identical images as promotional material for an AI painting course on its Douyin account without permission.
Wang sued for copyright infringement. The court found that the AI-generated images, created through the user's input of keywords, adjustments to parameters, and selection of outputs, reflected the creator's conceptualization, creative technique, aesthetic choices and individual expression, thus constituting protectable original works under Chinese copyright law.
Reported impact
The court ordered the Wuhan technology company to cease the infringing use and to pay the creator 4,000 yuan in damages and reasonable expenses. Both parties accepted the judgment and did not appeal.
Index analysis
The court confirmed that AI-generated images meeting the standard of originality qualify as works protected under copyright law. The judgment clarifies that the originality requirement is satisfied when the user exerts control and foresight over the generated output through keyword setting, parameter adjustment, and image selection.
The ruling establishes that use of AI-generated works for commercial purposes without authorization constitutes infringement of the information network transmission right.
Governance controls
The court's application of copyright law to AI-generated content provides guidance for assessing the copyrightability of future AI-generated works.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.