In the last months, a practice has become popular on social media, getting either the consumers or copyright experts interested: the use of tools like ChatGPT to transform personal photographs into illustrations in the visual style of Studio Ghibli, the renowned Japanese studio behind films like Princess Mononoke. Although at first glance it may seem like a harmless creative exercise, this phenomenon reopens a profound debate about the limits of copyright protection in the face of current developments in artificial intelligence.
From a critical perspective, it has been argued that artificial intelligence requires to be trained with enormous volumes of visual data to generate images with a defined aesthetic. This training process, known as Machine Learning, involves—at least in principle—the use of copyrighted works. While this is not necessarily a direct reproduction, it could be construed as a form of unauthorized use, especially if the results incorporate recognizable and substantial elements of the original works.
In contrast, there is a more open position, which considers that these uses may be protected by certain exceptions or limitations to copyright. Countries such as Japan and Singapore have introduced provisions that allow, under specific conditions, the use of protected content for training artificial intelligence models. This position is based on the need to balance the protection of creators’ rights with the promotion of technological development and innovation.
In Colombia, the DNDA has repeatedly stated that copyright protects works, not ideas. This implies that the author´s style, understood as a general form of aesthetic expression, does not constitute a protected work itself. Consequently, the imitation of a style does not constitute a copyright infringement.
As a relevant case law, Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures, decided by the Southern District Court of New York in 1987 determined that a movie poster had substantially incorporated elements of an original illustration by Saul Steinberg, even though it was not a literal copy. This case demonstrates that each situation must be analyzed individually, considering the context, the degree of similarity, and the purpose of the use.
In Europe, some national laws have recognized the pastiche exception as a limitation on copyright, allowing certain creative imitations. Although Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright in the digital single market does not expressly mention the term, Member States such as Spain have incorporated this provision into their domestic regulations, based on the criteria of transformation, non-confusion, and absence of harm to the original author.
Artificial intelligence-generated images with recognizable styles like Studio Ghibli’s represent a significant challenge to current copyright laws. Technology is transforming not only the forms of creation, but also the roles of the author, the reader, and the audience.
