Japan’s first AI image infringement case!Experts say AI works can be protected by copyright

2025-11-25 22:28:59|Myriagame |source：minecraft skins

Recently, Japan referred a 27-year-old man to prosecutors for allegedly using AI to generate images and infringing copyright. This case became the first judicial case in the country to identify AI-generated works as objects of protection under copyright law.

The Chiba Prefecture police transferred the man to the prosecutor's office on November 20 on suspicion of violating the Copyright Act.According to the investigation, the suspect used an image generated by AI without authorization from the original "creator".According to Japanese media reports, this case is the first time in the country that AI-generated images meet the requirements of a copyright work, and its unauthorized use may constitute infringement.

According to reports, the original author of the image used Stable Diffusion to generate the image involved in the case in late August 2024.The suspect allegedly used the image as the cover of a commercially sold book without authorization.

The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs pointed out in the "Basic Understanding of AI and Copyright" document that whether AI-generated content constitutes a creative work requires comprehensive consideration of multiple factors such as the number and content of input instructions and the number of generation iterations.The AI ​​creator who claimed copyright infringement told the police that he entered more than 20,000 instructions into Stable Diffusion in the process of generating the image, including a large number of detailed adjustments and modification instructions.Based on this testimony, the police transferred the case to the prosecutor for suspected copyright infringement, and simultaneously submitted a letter of opinion calling for "severe punishment", essentially recommending the filing of a public prosecution.

Although a judgment has not been made yet, the opinion of copyright and AI legal expert and lawyer Kensaku Fukui points out that if the instructions used contain sufficiently specific and detailed creation requirements, the output results can constitute works protected by copyright.Lawyer Kensaku Fukui emphasized: "When humans can specifically foresee the generated results and adjust the instructions, their key role becomes apparent. Vague instructions may lead to diverse and uncontrollable output, while specific and detailed instructions can realize the user's creative intentions."

What do you think about this? Do you think AI works should be protected?Welcome to discuss in the comment area.

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