Futurism, a science and technology site, interviewed lawyer Rob Rosenberg of Telluride Legal Strategies for his thoughts on the legalities of OpenAI letting people make images in the style of Studio Ghibli. Rosenberg is described as a former general counsel at Showtime and an expert on AI.
Though he can’t give a cut-and-dry answer of what might happen in court (in part because this is new technology and we don’t have precedent with it), he said that Studio Ghibli “might have the ability to claim OpenAI has violated the Lanham Act which provides the basis for claims related to false advertising, trademark infringement and unfair competition.”
Cornell Law School says the Lanham Act “provides for a national system of trademark registration and protects the owner of a federally registered mark against the use of similar marks if such use is likely to result in consumer confusion, or if the dilution of a famous mark is likely to occur.”
Rosenberg continued, “Ghibli could argue that by converting user photos to ‘Ghibli-style,’ OpenAI is trading off the goodwill of Ghibli’s trademarks, using Ghibli’s identifiable style and leading to a likelihood of confusion among consumers that this function is endorsed or licensed by Studio Ghibli.”
Doubtless Studio Ghibli wouldn’t want some of the AI images in their style to be confused with their own work. A quick glance on social media for AI-generated images in the Ghibli style includes cute Ghiblification of such things as JFK’s assassination, the towers falling on September 11, and stuff glorifying Hitler.
OpenAI argues that “training their models is a fair use under copyright law.”
It’s not know yet how Studio Ghibli might respond (though others in the anime and animation world have made their thoughts known). The New York Times is taking OpenAI to court, alleging that the AI company stole from their articles to train their artificial intelligence. But suing isn’t something as common in Japanese culture, though the act has increased in recent years.
Rosenberg also opined, “As most courts have not yet ruled on the strength of similar copyright claims, it is unclear whether they would prove successful or not. If OpenAI were marketing its platform as a place where consumers could go to turn their photos into ‘Ghibli-style’ anime, that fact would weigh more strongly in favor of a court finding that OpenAI’s conduct violated the Lanham Act.”
Source: Futurism
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.