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16 January 2026 / Tom Magnani , Dr Beatriz San Martin , Jessica Gillotte , Ally Myers
Issue: 8145 / Categories: Features , Copyright , Artificial intelligence , Intellectual property , Technology
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Getty Images v Stability AI: Much ado about little

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The Getty Images judgment fails to deliver on expectations. Experts from the IP & Technology teams at Arnold & Porter explain why
  • Summarises the highlights of the court’s findings in Getty Images v Stability AI— a ‘historic’ but ‘extremely limited’ ruling.
  • Sets out the impact the judgment will have on future AI infringement cases.

A judge in the High Court of Justice is the latest to weigh in on liability for use of intellectual property by AI companies, in Getty Images (US) Inc and others v Stability AI Ltd [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch). Mrs Justice Joanna Smith DBE considered claims that (i) Stability AI infringed Getty Images’ registered trade marks by generating synthetic image outputs containing similar marks using its AI model, Stable Diffusion, and (ii) Stability AI infringed the copyright in Getty’s visual content by using Getty’s images to train models of Stable Diffusion.

In a painstakingly detailed 205-page judgment, Mrs Justice

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Sponsored by
Newcastle & North of England Law Society—Lesley Fairclough

Newcastle & North of England Law Society—Lesley Fairclough

Ward Hadaway partner becomes bicentennial president following regional merger

Devonshires—four promotions

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Firm promotes four senior associates to partner in annual round

Fieldfisher—John McElroy & Daniel Hayward

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NEWS
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From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

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The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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