Studio Ghibli vs AI: tribute or copyright infringement?

Recently, thousands of AI-generated images imitating the visual style of Studio Ghibli have flooded social networks. This trend has been driven by tools such as ChatGPT and Grok, which can transform any image into dreamlike scenes with soft palettes and ethereal landscapes, characteristic of classic works such as Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro. Even Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has promoted this type of content. 

Although Hayao Miyazaki, the studio's founder, has not spoken directly about this new wave of AI-generated images, he has stated several times on other occasions that he does not approve of this technology in the artistic field. For Miyazaki, creation by AI lacks soul and empties the creative process of humanity, in other words, art should come from the spirit of the author, not from algorithms.

From a legal point of view, this situation raises several questions. While an artist's "style" as such is not protected by intellectual property law, the works that represent it are. According to the Berne Convention, which governs copyright at the international level, the reproduction, adaptation or transformation of a work requires the authorisation of its owner. If AI models were trained on Ghibli's copyrighted images without consent, there could be an infringement. 

The legal debate centres on several key questions: can an AI-generated image constitute a derivative work, can an artist's unique style be protected by copyright, should companies developing AIs obtain licences or compensate creators whose works have been used to train models?

To date, many of these issues remain in a grey area. In general, copyright laws were not designed to deal with the challenges raised by AI. However, the Studio Ghibli case highlights the need for clear limits between legitimate inspiration and infringement, in particular when technology can so accurately replicate the work of artists.

 No doubt this topic will develop further, and we will get back to it in the near future in these columns!