AI artist says he lost several million dollars because people 'stole' his work. Oh, the irony.

AI has taken the world by storm ever since generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Dall-E sprung onto the scene allowing people to write entire essays and papers, or create art with a few prompts. Two years ago, AI artist, Jason M. Allen made headlines when his artwork 'Théâtre D’opéra Spatial' won a prominent fine arts contest. While Allen disclosed that he created the artwork using the computer program called Midjourney, the judges weren't fully aware of the use of AI. This triggered a debate over the ethical validity of art generated by AI. It also marked the beginning of a battle for Allen who has since been trying to get a copyright for his artwork, as it was being stolen. 

Is it Theft?

Back in 2022 when AI image generators were just emerging, Allen's art gained global attention after winning at the Colorado State Fair. This raised questions on the originality of Allen's work while he claimed that he spent more than 110 hours creating the piece named Théâtre d’Opéra Spatial, as per Creative Bloq.

Since AI uses images from all over the internet to create new work, proponents of fine art created without tech argued that it was theft. However, at the time, Allen famously told the New York Times “This isn’t going to stop, art is dead, dude. It’s over. A.I. won. Humans lost." But the tables have been turned and now the artist finds himself defending his own work against theft.

Copyright for AI Art Remains Tricky

Following his state fair win, Allen submitted a copyright application for his artwork with the U.S. Copyright Office. However, the Copyright Office rejected his request arguing that it contained an “inextricably merged, inseparable contribution” from both Allen and Midjourney, Vice reported.

The AI artist then requested the office to reconsider multiple times, but they kept rejecting it. Finally, the Copyright Office Review Board made a final decision saying that Théâtre d’Opéra Spatial wasn’t eligible for copyright protection. Now, Allen claims that people are “blatantly and repeatedly stealing” his art and selling it on sites like Etsy and OpenSea without his permission. 

Losing Millions

The artist filed a lawsuit in September 2024, requesting the Colorado federal court to reverse the Copyright Office’s decision, Vice reported. He argued that a Copyright Examiner "may not be able to distinguish an artwork that used AI tools" which makes the review process "arbitrary" according to him.

According to Creative Bloq, Allen claimed that he was losing "several million dollars" without a copyright. "The Copyright Office's refusal to register Theatre D'Opera Spatial has put me in a terrible position, with no recourse against others who are blatantly and repeatedly stealing my work without compensation or credit," the outlet quoted the artist as saying.

AI in Legal Trouble?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a group of artists filed a lawsuit against Midjourney AI and other related AI companies, alleging copyright infringement. The artists allege that the popular generative AI services were trained on a dataset that included their work and, in some cases, the users of the AI programs could directly reproduce copies of their work without permission.

The recently filed lawsuit alleges that Midjourney in particular misled users with a “Midjourney Style List,” which offered the names of 4,700 artists to generate works in their style, according to The Verge.

The AI companies on the other hand have countered the allegations by claiming that the reproductions are rare and difficult and that the training of the programs should be considered legal fair use.