Andersen et al v. Stability AI Ltd. et al
Case Summary
On January 13, 2023, Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, and Karla Ortiz (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, represented by Joseph R. Saveri of Joseph Saveri Law Firm, LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against Stability AI Ltd. and Stability AI, Inc. (collectively “Stability”); Midjourney, Inc. (“Midjourney”); and DeviantArt, Inc. (“DeviantArt”) (collectively, “Defendants”), seeking injunctive relief, declaratory judgment, and compensatory damages for alleged direct and vicarious copyright infringement, violation of Plaintiffs’ statutory and common law rights of publicity, and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with Judge Joseph C. Spero presiding.
In the complaint, the plaintiffs stated, “Stable Diffusion is software released under a permissive open-source license. Under this open-source license, programmers and users can download for free the software and its associated machine-learning models derived from the Training Images and then use the software according to the terms of the open-source license.”
The plaintiffs alleged that “Defendants had access to but were not licensed by Plaintiffs or the Class to train any machine learning, AI, or other computer program, algorithm, or other functional prediction engine using the Works. Defendants had access to but were not licensed by Plaintiffs nor the Class to incorporate the Works into the products offered by Stability, DeviantArt, Midjourney, or related software applications.”
Plaintiffs further alleged, “DeviantArt has not attempted to negotiate licenses for any of the Training Images. Like Stability, DeviantArt is not sharing any of the revenue from the DreamUp app with the artists or other owners of the Training Images. DeviantArt has betrayed its artist community. Rather than standing up for the rights of its members by rejecting Stable Diffusion and other sources of AI-generated art, DeviantArt has gone the opposite direction: it has built an app called DreamUp that is based on Stable Diffusion. By releasing DreamUp as a paid product, DeviantArt is a co-conspirator in the illegal use of copyrighted works.”
Additionally, the plaintiffs alleged, “Individuals have used AI Image Products to create works using the names of Plaintiffs and the Class in prompts and passed those works off as original works by the artist whose name was used in the prompt. Such individuals are referred to herein as ‘Imposters.’ By using a particular artist’s name, Imposters can cause the AI Image Product to rely more heavily on that artist’s prior works to create images that can pass as original works by that artist. These output images are referred to herein as ‘Fakes.’”
Plaintiffs presented seven claims for relief, including for alleged direct and vicarious copyright infringement, violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, violation of the statutory right of publicity, and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.
In the prayer for relief, the plaintiffs requested a judgment for injunctive relief against further alleged violations and award of compensatory damages together with costs of litigation.
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Case Details
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Case Number:
3:23-CV-00201
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Filing Date:
01/13/2023
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Case Status:
Pending - Other Pending
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Case Type:
Contract - Other Contract
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Court:
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Courthouse:
Judge Details
Presiding Judge
William H. Orrick
Party Details
Plaintiffs
Sarah Andersen
Kelly McKernan
Karla Ortiz
Defendants
Stability AI Ltd.
Stability AI, Inc.
Midjourney, Inc.
DeviantArt, Inc.
Attorney/Law Firm Details
Plaintiff Attorneys
Brian D Clark
Cadio R. Zirpoli
Christopher Kar-Lun Young
Elissa Amlin Buchanan
Eura Chang
Matthew Butterick
Laura Matson
Travis Luke Manfredi
Joseph R. Saveri
Defendant Attorneys
Mark Alan Lemley
Nicole Marie Jantzi
Paul M. Schoenhard
Amir Ghavi
Michael Courtney Keats
Judd D. Lauter
Kayla Elizabeth Blaker
James Asheton Lemay
Angela Lucille Dunning
Michael H. Rubin
Andrew Michael Gass
Court Documents
(#48) Certificate of Interested Entities by Midjourney, Inc. identifying Other Affiliate David Holz for Midjourney, Inc.. (Lauter, Judd) (Filed on 2/23/2023) (Entered: 02/23/2023)
(#47) Corporate Disclosure Statement by Midjourney, Inc. (Lauter, Judd) (Filed on 2/16/2023) (Entered: 02/16/2023)
(#46) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #12 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Paul M. Schoenbard. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
(#45) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #30 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Laura M. Matson. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
(#44) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #15 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Michael C. Keats. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
(#45) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #30 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Laura M. Matson. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
(#44) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #15 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Michael C. Keats. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
(#43) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #13 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Nicole M. Jantzi. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
(#46) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #12 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Paul M. Schoenbard. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
Exhibit 17
Exhibit 16
Exhibit 14
Exhibit 11
Exhibit 9
Exhibit 8
Exhibit 7
Exhibit 6
Exhibit 4
Docket Entries
Docket(#48) Certificate of Interested Entities by Midjourney, Inc. identifying Other Affiliate David Holz for Midjourney, Inc.. (Lauter, Judd) (Filed on 2/23/2023) (Entered: 02/23/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#47) Corporate Disclosure Statement by Midjourney, Inc. (Lauter, Judd) (Filed on 2/16/2023) (Entered: 02/16/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#46) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #12 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Paul M. Schoenbard. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#45) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #30 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Laura M. Matson. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#44) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #15 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Michael C. Keats. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#43) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #13 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Nicole M. Jantzi. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#42) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #17 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Amir R. Ghavi. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#41) Order by Judge William H. Orrick granting #38 Motion for Pro Hac Vice by Kayla Blaker. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#40) ORDER REGARDING DEVIANTART, INC.'S DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINT AND RELATED BRIEFING SCHEDULE by Judge William H. Orrick granting #39 Stipulation. (jmd, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2023) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#39) STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER Regarding DeviantArt Inc.'s Deadline to Respond to Complaint and Related Briefing Schedule filed by Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, Karla Ortiz, DeviantArt, Inc. (Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 2/8/2023) Modified on 2/8/2023 (cjl, COURT STAFF). (Entered: 02/08/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#10) CONSENT/DECLINATION to Proceed Before a US Magistrate Judge by Sarah Andersen.. (Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 1/27/2023) (Entered: 01/27/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#9) Certificate of Interested Entities by Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, Karla Ortiz (Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 1/20/2023) (Entered: 01/20/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#8) SUMMONS Returned Executed by Sarah Andersen, Karla Ortiz, Kelly McKernan. Midjourney, Inc. served on 1/18/2023, answer due 2/8/2023. (Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 1/20/2023) (Entered: 01/20/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#7) SUMMONS Returned Executed by Sarah Andersen, Karla Ortiz, Kelly McKernan. DeviantArt, Inc. served on 1/18/2023, answer due 2/8/2023. (Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 1/19/2023) (Entered: 01/19/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#6) SUMMONS Returned Executed by Sarah Andersen, Karla Ortiz, Kelly McKernan. Stability AI, Inc. served on 1/18/2023, answer due 2/8/2023. (Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 1/19/2023) (Entered: 01/19/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#5) Initial Case Management Scheduling Order with ADR Deadlines: Case Management Statement due by 4/7/2023. Initial Case Management Conference set for 4/14/2023 02:00 PM in San Francisco, Courtroom F, 15th Floor. (jml, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/17/2023) (Entered: 01/17/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#4) Summons Issued as to DeviantArt, Inc., Midjourney, Inc., Stability AI Ltd., Stability AI, Inc.. (jml, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/17/2023) (Entered: 01/17/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#3) Case assigned to Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero. Counsel for plaintiff or the removing party is responsible for serving the Complaint or Notice of Removal, Summons and the assigned judge's standing orders and all other new case documents upon the opposing parties. For information, visit E-Filing A New Civil Case at http://cand.uscourts.gov/ecf/caseopening.Standing orders can be downloaded from the court's web page at www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges. Upon receipt, the summons will be issued and returned electronically. A scheduling order will be sent by Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) within two business days. Consent/Declination due by 1/31/2023. (jrs, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/17/2023) (Entered: 01/17/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#2) Proposed Summons. (Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 1/13/2023) (Entered: 01/13/2023)
[-] Read LessDocket(#1) COMPLAINT against All Defendants with jury demand ( Filing fee $ 402, receipt number ACANDC-17900289.). Filed by Sarah Andersen, Karla Ortiz, Kelly McKernan. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 1, #2 Exhibit 2, #3 Exhibit 3, #4 Exhibit 4, #5 Exhibit 5, #6 Exhibit 6, #7 Exhibit 7, #8 Exhibit 8, #9 Exhibit 9, #10 Exhibit 10, #11 Exhibit 11, #12 Exhibit 12, #13 Exhibit 13, #14 Exhibit 14, #15 Exhibit 15, #16 Exhibit 16, #17 Exhibit 17, #18 Civil Cover Sheet)(Saveri, Joseph) (Filed on 1/13/2023) Modified on 1/17/2023 (jml, COURT STAFF). (Entered: 01/13/2023)
[-] Read Less
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