Düsseldorf court says AI-generated underwater dog image did not infringe copyright
technollama · x · 2026-07-23
Düsseldorf court says AI dog image did not infringe copyright
The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf rejected an appeal in the “underwater dog” case. A photographer had sued after a former collaborator created a modified cartoon-like AI image based on one of the photographer’s dog photos.
What the court held
- Copyright protects creative expression, not ideas, styles, or broad motifs.
- The AI image did not reproduce the photographer’s protected creative choices.
- The court compared the original and the AI output and found major differences in composition, perspective, and style.
- It said merely prompting an AI or selecting one of several outputs is not enough by itself to establish authorship in the final work.
Why it matters
The decision suggests that AI-generated outputs may only receive copyright protection if there is meaningful human creative control reflected in the final result. The defendant also failed to prove the human contribution it claimed to have made.
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