Getty Images issues statement on ruling in Stability AI UK litigation
Rhea-AI Summary
Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) issued a statement on a UK court ruling dated Nov 4, 2025 finding that Stable Diffusion infringed Getty Images' trademarks when AI outputs included those marks.
The court held the model provider (not the user) responsible and found Getty Images' copyright-protected works were used to train Stable Diffusion. The ruling also affirmed that intangible articles such as AI models can be subject to copyright claims. Getty Images said it will use the UK findings in its US litigation and urged governments to adopt stronger transparency rules, noting it spent millions of pounds to reach this stage and still must pursue one provider in another venue.
Positive
- Court found Stable Diffusion infringed Getty Images' trademarks
- Court assigned responsibility to the model provider, not user
- Court found Getty Images' copyright works were used to train the model
- Precedent: AI models can be subject to copyright claims
Negative
- Getty invested millions of pounds to reach this ruling
- One provider remains to be pursued in another legal venue
- Getty highlighted lack of transparency rules, raising future costs
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, GETY declined 9.18%, reflecting a notable negative market reaction. Argus tracked a trough of -8.7% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 5 alerts that day, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $82M from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $813M at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
NEW YORK, Nov. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Getty Images (NYSE: GETY), a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace, today issued the following statement on the ruling of its litigation against Stability AI in the UK:
Today’s ruling confirms that Stable Diffusion’s inclusion of Getty Images’ trademarks in AI-generated outputs infringed those trademarks. Crucially, the Court rejected Stability AI’s attempt to hold the user responsible for that infringement, confirming that responsibility for the presence of such trademarks lies with the model provider, who has control over the images used to train the model. This is a significant win for intellectual property owners.
The ruling delivered another key finding; that, wherever the training and development did take place, Getty Images' copyright-protected works were used to train Stable Diffusion. The ruling also established a powerful precedent that intangible articles, such as AI models, are subject to copyright infringement claims in the same way as tangible articles. We will be taking forward findings of fact from the UK ruling in our US case.
Beyond the specifics of the decision, we remain deeply concerned that even well-resourced companies such as Getty Images face significant challenges in protecting their creative works given the lack of transparency requirements. We invested millions of pounds to reach this point with only one provider that we need to continue to pursue in another venue. We urge governments, including the UK, to establish stronger transparency rules which are essential to prevent costly legal battles and to allow creators to protect their rights.
About Getty Images
Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace that offers a full range of content solutions to meet the needs of any customer around the globe, no matter their size. Through its Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, websites and APIs, Getty Images serves customers in almost every country in the world and is the first-place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with almost 600,000 content creators and more than 355 content partners to deliver this powerful and comprehensive content. Each year Getty Images covers more than 160,000 news, sport and entertainment events providing depth and breadth of coverage that is unmatched. Getty Images maintains one of the largest and best privately-owned photographic archives in the world with millions of images dating back to the beginning of photography.
Through its best-in-class creative library and Custom Content solutions, Getty Images helps customers elevate their creativity and entire end-to-end creative process to find the right visual for any need. With the adoption and distribution of generative AI technologies and tools trained on permissioned content that include indemnification and perpetual, worldwide usage rights, Getty Images and iStock customers can use text to image generation to ideate and create commercially safe compelling visuals, further expanding Getty Images capabilities to deliver exactly what customers are looking for.
For company news and announcements, visit our Newsroom.
Media Contact Getty Images:
Julia Holmes
Julia.Holmes@gettyimages.com
FAQ
What did the UK court rule about Getty Images and Stable Diffusion on Nov 4, 2025?
How will the Nov 4, 2025 UK ruling affect Getty Images' US case (NYSE: GETY)?
Did the UK ruling say Getty Images' works were used to train Stable Diffusion?
What precedent did the UK court establish regarding AI models and copyright?
What concerns did Getty Images raise after the UK decision on Nov 4, 2025?
What does the ruling mean for users and model providers using Stable Diffusion?
