Key Points
- Bundesgerichtshof is hearing a legal dispute over the use of a photograph in AI training.
- The photographer filed a lawsuit against an organization distributing datasets with billions of entries.
- The Hamburg Oberlandesgericht ruled the process legal under the text and data mining exception.
- The decision could set a precedent for AI training data and copyright in Germany.
By the Numbers
The Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice) in Karlsruhe is evaluating whether the use of a photograph for artificial intelligence training is legal. A photographer sued a non-profit organization that provides datasets with billions of entries for free. The organization had temporarily downloaded publicly accessible preview images, including the plaintiff photographer's photo.
The organization added not the images themselves, but only metadata such as URLs and descriptions to the dataset. The controversial photo had been published on an agency website that prohibited automated software and bot access. The photographer claimed copyright infringement, but the Hamburg Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court) ruled that the act was permitted under the "text and data mining" exception. The final decision now rests with the Bundesgerichtshof.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the subject of this lawsuit?
- Whether a photograph can be downloaded and its metadata used for AI model training without permission.
- How did the lower court rule?
- The Hamburg Oberlandesgericht ruled that the organization's actions were legal under the "Text and Data Mining" exception.
- What is the significance of this ruling?
- The Bundesgerichtshof's final decision will set an important precedent for how copyrighted works can be used for AI training in Germany and likely the EU as a whole.
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