Behind the Scenes at Stuart Ng Books: Basics on Copyright, Trademark, AI generated images (8.11.24)

Links here are excellent reference for these indie art life essentials. At the end of this post there is a gallery of memes and images promoting awareness of the value of artWORK.

Copyright and Trademark

This page from the Graphic Artists Guild website covers the FAQ on Copyright and Trademark, as well as some business basics like contracts and pricing guides: https://graphicartistsguild.org/resources/

Copyright infographics by artist Lili Chin. Free downloads on her website: https://blog.doggiedrawings.net/post/145814382301

AI image generators and the impact on Artists

August 2023 was AI image generator info month on the blog. There are several often-viewed posts there.

Here are 2 highlights:

http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2023/08/deciphering-ai-images-clues-to-look-for.html

http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2023/08/beware-ai-image-generated-non.html

plus this artist testimonial from September

https://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2023/09/jean-baptiste-monge-on-impact-of.html

Is AI scraping of images "Fair Use" under current copyright laws??

Artists say: "No!" Artists own the images that are being used to build the AI data sets. Artists are testifying before lawmakers and striving to raise awareness at the impact of AI generated images on their livelihoods. They consider what's being done with AI to fall outside the Copyright office's definition of fair use as "... a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances." In general, Fair Use allows using excerpts of copyright protected work for educational use or critical review.

While the courts work out the legal language of all this --what's happening to artists isn't fair. And it's up to art fans to be informed.

Website text from the Copyright Office acknowledges "Fair Use: is a thorny issue: "Fair use is a judge-created doctrine dating back to the nineteenth century and codified in the 1976 Copyright Act. Both the fact patterns and the legal application have evolved over time, and you should seek legal assistance as necessary and appropriate." This Copyright Office link has an excellent primer on Fair Use. https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/index.html

Are AI generated images "transformative works" under copyright law -- is another thorny issue under Fair Use that artists are challenging. Copyright law has long protected derivative works as creative rights that belong to artists and author. Summaries of this recent Supreme Court ruling in the Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith case the courts "recognition and affirmation of the importance of the author’s right to prepare derivative works" : http://copyright.nova.edu/derivative-works/#:~:text= and https://www.artforum.com/columns/the-transformative-impact-of-_warhol-v-goldsmith_-252757/ (photo below from the Artforum link)

We need laws that allow artists to "opt out" of image scraping for those who want to retain their creative rights. Why is this so hard to achieve?

This Arthrive.com link is a primer regarding mis-attributed AI generated images we all need to be aware of

https://arthive.com/publications/4056~Art_fakes_that_you_probably_came_across_on_the_Internet?fbclid=

Infographic below by Michelle Leivan https://www.cafepress.com/leivan/8172417

Concept Art Association. This industry organization helps promote the role of concept artists. This page on their website explains basics on AI and the advocay role of Concept Art Assocation raising awareness in the industry, the public at large, and lawmakers in Washington and at the Copyright Office: https://www.conceptartassociation.com/advocacy

Blog post with background on how concept art and fine artist Karla Ortiz became the face of the fight for artist's rights: http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2022/10/karla-ortiz-raising-awareness-on-ai-art.html

In July 2023, Karla was part of a group of artist to testify about the impact of AI generated images on their industry and careers. This blog post has the text of her testimony and more. http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2023/07/testimony-of-karla-ortiz-and-others-at.html

Photo below of artist Karla Ortiz in her Studio

"Musa Victoriosa" by Karla Ortiz, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/13/technology/ai-art-generator-lensa-stable-diffusion.html

Karla Ortiz Blog -- In Nov 2022 Karla launched her KOrtiz Blog which she describes as"....is a personal space for Karla to share art, processes, ideas, and all things art. This is also a space that will chronicle all of Karla’s personal thoughts and research on emerging AI technologies, the companies behind it, and all the concerns this new tech brings, from the artist’s perspective." https://www.kortizblog.com/ (Photo below is from the KOrtiz blog)

GLAZE -- background on, and link for the latest version of this free software, developed at University of Chicago, for artists to use to protect their online art images from being "scraped" for AI data sets. https://glaze.cs.uchicago.edu/index.html#whatis

Video from GLAZE creator Ben Zhao at SAND Lab, University of Chicago.

An earlier blog post about GLAZE

http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2023/03/glaze-protective-tech-against-unethical.html

Here is a 5.22.23 segment on the Today Show previewing AI enhanced Adobe Photoshop..

And a links to the Content Authority Initiative refrenced in the clip: https://contentauthenticity.org/faq

https://contentauthenticity.org/how-it-works

AI may be a tool that some will use, but we need transparancy about that use, and selected opt-ins with credit and compensation for artists who choose to allow use of their images. The standard should be opt-out with artist rights retained and protected. Just because an artist posts and image online that doesn't make the artWORK free to use by others.

Articles and interviews on AI and impact on artists:

https://hyperallergic.com/835769/artists-skeptical-of-us-agreements-with-ai-companies/?fbclid=

Excerpt: “ But the efficacy of these “voluntary” deals with leading AI companies is unclear, as Google, Meta, and OpenAI are each already embroiled in lawsuits over alleged copyright infringement and misuse of user information — and experts in the fields of art and technology are skeptical that they will achieve much. “The ‘voluntary’ nature of these commitments renders them meaningless,” University of Chicago professor Ben Zhao told Hyperallergic, noting that “while the Biden administration has good intentions, they seem to be oblivious to the real risks at stake.” As a computer science educator, Zhao served as the faculty lead for the research project “Glaze,” a system designed to shield artists from AI-style imitation. The technology, which is currently available for free to download, uses stylized masks that apply barely noticeable alterations to artworks in order to misdirect generative models that try to steal an artist’s personal aesthetic.

These are incredibly strong yet poorly defined goals that have been set forth, and many of these commitments involve technical problems that lack solutions or may be completely insolvable,” Zhao said, pointing to the example of “watermarking” content. “There are no robust solutions for watermarking generative content, either text or images, known today,” he explained. “How hard will these AI companies work at ‘voluntarily’ building these difficult systems? What we need is real regulation with well-defined, transparent goals that are backed up with plans for testing, enforcement, and if necessary, penalties. The assumption that big tech will do the ‘right’ thing despite the obvious financial disincentives is naive.” Concept Art Association, an organization that supports concept artists and their work, also explained to Hyperallergic that because creators “are the true creative core at the heart of generative AI,” they must be allowed to have a say in the legislation around it.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/7/23823046/openai-data-scrape-block-ai?mibextid=Zxz2cZ&fbclid=

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hollywood-ceos-greed-will-burn-the-movie-biz-down?fbclid=

This June 2023 LA Times article looks at debunked AI augmented images making the rounds...https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/28/technology/ai-detection-midjourney-stable-diffusion-dalle.html

Here are some resources to analyze online images and detect AI augmentation

https://www.scam-detector.com/?fbclid=

https://www.aiornot.com/

https://www.ocrolus.com/product/detect/?utm_source=

https://petapixel.com/2023/06/16/ai-or-not-is-a-free-web-app-that-claims-to-detect-ai-generated-photos/

Now more than ever, it's important to SIFT before sharing images. The SIFT System --

Stop.
Investigate.
Fact check/find corroborating stories from credible sources.
Trace claims, quotes and media to its original context.

Explained in this post from the blog: http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2023/08/sift-stop-investigate-fact-check-trace.html