The issue of intellectual property rights of AI-generated content has caused widespread discussion and controversy in recent years. The Changshu City People's Court of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, issued a highly-watched copyright dispute case on March 7. This case is not only the first case in Jiangsu Province, but also the second copyright case in the country involving AI-generated content, and has important legal significance.
The cause of the case was a copyright dispute caused by Lin's image works generated by Midjourney software. During the trial, the Changshu Municipal People's Court first conducted a detailed review of the user agreement of the AI software and confirmed that the rights to the pictures generated using the software belong to the user. The court also paid special attention to Lin's modification of prompt words and the processing of picture details during the creation process, believing that these behaviors reflect Lin's unique choices and arrangements, so that the generated picture works are original and in line with the protection requirements of copyright law.
The court further pointed out that the defendant spread the picture online without Lin's permission, which constituted an infringement. At the same time, the court also clearly defined the scope of copyright, believing that Lin's copyright is limited to the picture itself, and the design of the manufacturing physical device does not infringe on his copyright. This judgment aims to avoid excessive protection of copyright and abuse of rights, reflecting the court's prudent attitude in balancing creators' rights and interests with social public interests.
In the end, the court made the following judgment: First, the infringer needs to publicly apologize to Lin on his Xiaohongshu account for three consecutive days; Second, the infringer needs to compensate Lin for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling RMB 10,000; Third, Lin’s other litigation requests were rejected. After this judgment, neither the plaintiff nor the defendant appealed, so the judgment has officially come into effect.
The judgment in this case provides an important legal reference for the copyright protection of AI-generated content, and clarifies that works created with the assistance of AI technology can still be protected by copyright law as long as they are original. At the same time, the court's limitation on the scope of copyright also reminds creators and the public to pay attention to avoid abuse of rights while enjoying rights.
This judgment is not only exemplary for AI-generated content copyright disputes in Jiangsu Province and even the whole country, but also provides an important legal basis for the trial of similar cases in the future. With the continuous development of AI technology, related legal issues will become more complex, and court judgments will play an important guiding role in such cases.