Getty Images (US), Inc. v. Stability AI (D. Del. 1:23-cv-00135, dismissed and refiled in N.D. Cal., 2025); Getty Images v Stability AI [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch) (UK)

Summary

Getty Images sued Stability AI in the District of Delaware on February 3, 2023, alleging that Stability copied more than 12 million Getty photographs, with captions and metadata, without permission to train Stable Diffusion, and that outputs reproduced Getty watermarks. In August 2025 Getty voluntarily dismissed the Delaware action and refiled the same day in the Northern District of California, where in April 2026 Judge Trina L. Thompson let Getty's copyright, trademark, unfair competition and dilution claims proceed. In the parallel UK claim, the High Court (Joanna Smith J) ruled on November 4, 2025, that Stability had infringed Getty's trade marks only in limited, historic instances and rejected the secondary copyright infringement claim; Getty had dropped its primary copyright claim because training took place outside the UK. Getty was granted permission to appeal the secondary infringement ruling. The US claims remain allegations.

Key dates

1. February 3, 2023Filed
2. October 16, 2026Checked against sources
3. October 21, 2026Checked against sources

Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: January 15, 2027.

Evidence

Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.

1. The visual media company filed the complaint in the US District Court for the Northern District of California after it voluntarily dismissed its 2023 lawsuit against Stability AI in Delaware federal court earlier the same day.

   Supports: Delaware dismissal and N.D. Cal. refiling

   Getty Drops Stability AI Copyright Suit, Refiles in California (15 Aug. 2025) Bloomberg Law Reporting or analysis

2. Case 1:23-cv-00135-UNA Document 1 Filed 02/03/23 Page 1 of 36 PageID #: 1

   Supports: docket number and filing date

   Complaint, Getty Images (US), Inc. v. Stability AI, Inc., 1:23-cv-00135, ECF 1 U.S. District Court, D. Del. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

3. Judge Trina L. Thompson of the US District Court for the Northern District of California found Thursday that Getty's copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, and and trademark dilution all were sufficient to move forward.

   Supports: April 2026 motion to dismiss ruling

   Getty's AI Copyright Suit Survives Stability's Bid for Dismissal (24 Apr. 2026) Bloomberg Law Reporting or analysis

4. Neutral Citation Number: [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch) Case number: IL-2023-000007

   Supports: UK judgment citation

   Getty Images -v- Stability AI [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch) Courts and Tribunals Judiciary (UK) Primary source

5. In her judgment , Joanna Smith J held that an early version of Stable Diffusion (the generative AI product at the heart of the case) had technically infringed Getty's trade mark rights but the infringements were historic and limited in scope.

   Supports: UK outcome on trade marks

   Getty Images has been granted permission to appeal the High Court's judgment on the question of secondary copyright infringement.

   Supports: UK appeal permission

   Getty Images v Stability AI – Getty granted permission to appeal Burges Salmon Reporting or analysis