Artificial Intelligence and Artistic Imitation: A Legal Analysis of the Ghibli-Style Image Debate

The rise of AI – Especially generative ai has already revolutionized various sectors and now even the creative arts, OpenAI recently launched its 4o Image Generation feature which took the internet by storm with its ability to transform real-life images into some of the most popular art forms. Among them, the Studio Ghibli-inspired aesthetic quickly became a viral sensation, This phenomenon, often referred to as “Ghiblification,” has led to widespread sharing of AI-generated Ghibli-style images across social media platforms. Celebrities like Vicky Kaushal & Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu & Karan Singh Grover, also joined this trend.[1]

However, what began as a fun trend has sparked controversy over copyright infringement and the ethics of AI systems producing art that closely resembles the work of established artists and studios.

Studio Ghibli’s Stance on AI Art

Studio Ghibli’s art is all about aesthetics, soft colour palettes, and expressive anime-like characters, originally created by Hayao Miyazaki (co-founder) and as expected he has been a very vocal critic of the AI generated art. In his words “ I am utterly disgusted… I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.”[2] His words very clearly reflect the ethical concerns when it comes to AI’s role in creative processes.

Legal Implications of AI-Generated Art

This creation by AI has raised a lot of complex legal questions especially in concern with copyright infringement and IP rights.

When we talk about copy right laws, its aim is to protect original work of authorship, granting exclusive rights over their work to the creators.[3] But when AI generated art, that closely resembles the style of a particular artist or studio (in this case Ghibli studio); it raises the question of whether such creations is infringing the copyrights or not. Ideally since Studio Ghibli follows a unique style and aesthetic it could potentially violate their IP rights. Many legal experts have stated that unauthorized use of an artist’s work for training AI models can be problematic and may constitute infringement.[4]

While copyright law protects specific works, but whether it covers the style of an artist is still in grey area; is less clear – cut, and when AI generated art starts replicating the distinctive style of an artist or a studio to a level that it becomes almost impossible to distinguish it from the original, that’s when it starts challenging the boundaries of current copyright protections, this raises the question of whether the current laws.

For instance; in India, the copyright act of 1957 that protects and governs creative works, defines an “author” as the PERSON who causes the work to be created, which directly implies a human creator, the most problematic part of the provision also lies in the presupposition that only a natural person may CAUSE the work to be created from a computer resource while completely disregarding the autonomous nature of generative AI.[5] Computer-generated works with substantial human involvement are protected under the Act, autonomous works of AI are beyond the scope of the provisions of this act; Whether or not the Copyright Act needs an amendment to introduce the provision for the inclusion of AI rests on the desirability of the copyright for AI-generated works.

This issue has also reached the courts, as seen in the PIL titled Kanchan Nagar & Ors v. Union of India & Ors., which addresses concerns about the unauthorized use of original artistic works by AI software and seeks judicial intervention to regulate AI technologies that appropriate copyrighted material without permission.[6] Moreover, in a case the Indian Copyright Office recognized the RAGHAV Artificial Intelligence Painting App as a co-author of a copyrighted artistic work. However, this decision was later reversed due to the absence of explicit legal provisions for AI-generated content in Indian copyright law.[7]

Internationally; in a similar case a group of artists filed a lawsuit against Stability AI, alleging unauthorized use of their works to train AI image generators.[8] However, diverging from the U.S. stance, the Beijing Internet Court granted copyright protection to images created using AI[9]

Ethical Considerations

Beyond just legal implications, the use of AI to simply replicate an established artistic style raises a lot of ethical concerns, Artists invest years developing style that showcase their personal aesthetics, expression and even cultural significance. The use of these styles by AI systems is widely been seen as a form of cultural appropriation, devaluing the original work and even undermining the years of efforts of the artists to mere mins. The rise of AI – generated art poses a huge threat to the livelihood of human artists, as it is bound to reduce the demand for original creations.

While artificial intelligence offers huge possibilities for creativity and innovations, alongside it also necessitates a sincere revaluation of existing copyright laws to address these issues in the near future; as protecting the rights of an original creator while fostering technological advancement requires a very delicate balance. As AI continues to evolve, it is highly important for legal frameworks to adapt to them accordingly, this will ensure both human creativity and technological innovation can coexist together, rather harmoniously.

Author: Divya Agarwal, in case of any queries please contact/write back to us via email to [email protected] or at Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorney.

References

1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/vicky-kaushal-katrina-kaif-bipasha-basu-karan-singh-grover-arjun-kapoor-sanjay-dutt-rakul-preet-singh-and-others-jump-on-the-studio-ghibli-trend-see-inside/articleshow/119666691.cms
2. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/hayao-miyazaki-on-ai-utterly-disgusted/
3. https://csipr.nliu.ac.in/miscellaneous/navigating-indian-copyright-framework-in-the-age-of-ai-generated-works/
4. https://apnews.com/article/studio-ghibli-chatgpt-images-hayao-miyazaki-openai-0f4cb487ec3042dd5b43ad47879b91f4
5. https://www.mondaq.com/india/copyright/1348418/legal-implications-of-ai-created-works-in-india
6. https://asiaiplaw.com/article/pil-filed-in-delhi-high-court-addressing-unauthorized-use-of-artistic-works-by-ai
7. https://www.managingip.com/article/2a5bqo2drurt0bxl7ab24/exclusive-india-recognises-ai-as-co-author-of-copyrighted-artwork
8. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/08/15/us-artists-score-victory-in-landmark-ai-copyright-case
9. https://www.dwt.com/blogs/artificial-intelligence-law-advisor/2024/01/chinese-internet-court-rules-on-ai-authorship

[1] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/vicky-kaushal-katrina-kaif-bipasha-basu-karan-singh-grover-arjun-kapoor-sanjay-dutt-rakul-preet-singh-and-others-jump-on-the-studio-ghibli-trend-see-inside/articleshow/119666691.cms

[2] https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/hayao-miyazaki-on-ai-utterly-disgusted/

[3] https://csipr.nliu.ac.in/miscellaneous/navigating-indian-copyright-framework-in-the-age-of-ai-generated-works/

[4] https://apnews.com/article/studio-ghibli-chatgpt-images-hayao-miyazaki-openai-0f4cb487ec3042dd5b43ad47879b91f4

[5] https://www.mondaq.com/india/copyright/1348418/legal-implications-of-ai-created-works-in-india

[6] https://asiaiplaw.com/article/pil-filed-in-delhi-high-court-addressing-unauthorized-use-of-artistic-works-by-ai

[7] https://www.managingip.com/article/2a5bqo2drurt0bxl7ab24/exclusive-india-recognises-ai-as-co-author-of-copyrighted-artwork

[8] https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/08/15/us-artists-score-victory-in-landmark-ai-copyright-case

[9] https://www.dwt.com/blogs/artificial-intelligence-law-advisor/2024/01/chinese-internet-court-rules-on-ai-authorship