Legal troubles arise over Ghibli images created with AI.

Studio Ghibli, the renowned Japanese animation studio famous for works such as Spirited Away (2001), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), has become one of the most talked-about names in recent days. Just one day after OpenAI launched its "image creation" feature for ChatGPT, social media was flooded with Studio Ghibli-style images.

This new feature raises concerns about intellectual property rights, but the problem is that Studio Ghibli itself will have a very difficult time winning in court.

Intellectual property infringement

According to lawyers specializing in intellectual property rights, if Studio Ghibli decides to sue OpenAI to block this feature, the studio will face significant difficulties in proving its case.

Social media is flooded with images created by AI in the style of Studio Ghibli. Photo: X.com.

Specifically, these experts argue that the legal issues surrounding the use of Studio Ghibli films to train AI models like OpenAI remain unresolved. Furthermore, copyright law often allows artists to emulate a particular visual style.

The ability to create Ghibli-style images, promoted by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on X, is a step up from ChatGPT's previous image creation features. Earlier versions, such as the one using the DALL-E 3 engine, made it more difficult to create images in the style of living artists.

Matthew Sag, a law professor at Emory University specializing in copyright law and artificial intelligence, argues that OpenAI's previous protections were more about "beautifying" its public image than actually protecting copyright.

"OpenAI made a pretty sensible decision to stop generating images in the style of living people. Not because it's a copyright violation, but because people don't like it. Individuals are easily offended by it," Sag said.

According to Business Insider , the legal arguments against AI generation companies like OpenAI can be summarized in two main points.

First, there's the "input" issue. It needs to be proven whether the creator of ChatGPT violated Studio Ghibli's rights if they trained the language model extensively in the studio's films and television programs.

Then there's the "output" case. Studio Ghibli has to prove that OpenAI is creating works that are identical to the copyrighted work the studio has registered.

OpenAI can easily "circumvent the rules".

An OpenAI spokesperson previously told Business Insider that the company's policy allows for the creation of images in the "general studio style" but not in the "style of a living artist."

The allegedly disrespectful images were created by AI in the style of Studio Ghibli. Photo: X/@netcapgirl.

However, Kristelia García, a professor of intellectual property law at Georgetown University Law School, argues that the difference between copying the work of Studio Ghibli or its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is irrelevant.

According to García, the film studio, and possibly the artists working for them, can all make copyright claims.

Meanwhile, Professor Christa Laser, an expert in intellectual property law at Cleveland State University, argues that Studio Ghibli will have a much harder time arguing for "output" in court.

She explained that while individual works – such as specific films, scenes, or characters from Studio Ghibli – are protected by copyright law, the artistic style itself is not.

Evan Brown, an intellectual property lawyer at the law firm Neal & McDevitt, also offered a similar assessment, noting that artistic styles are not explicitly protected by copyright law. This means OpenAI doesn't seem to be violating the law simply because it creates images that resemble Studio Ghibli films.

In fact, ChatGPT's image guidelines are quite flexible in creating this type of content. OpenAI spokesperson Taya Christianson stated that the company does not block the modeling of adult public figures or the depiction of violence in fictional contexts, as long as it serves an artistic purpose.

The artistic style is not explicitly protected by copyright law. Photo: PetaPixel.

Furthermore, Ms. Christianson emphasized that users should only upload materials they own or have the right to use on the platform, and they do not have the right to arbitrarily edit images.

Business Insider notes that to successfully argue for copyright infringement, Studio Ghibli would need to prove that OpenAI's models were actually trained on the studio's films. The biggest problem is that this could require an investigation process at the initial stage of the lawsuit.

However, Professor García said Studio Ghibli would face even greater difficulties if the investigation concluded that ChatGPT's functionality was trained on fan art (drawings created by fans in a specific style), which has been popular on the internet for decades.

Source: https://znews.vn/rac-roi-phap-ly-voi-anh-ghibli-tao-bang-ai-post1541893.html