Photographer sues LAION e.V. over refusal to remove copyrighted images from AI training dataset
Photographer Robert Kneschke requested that LAION e.V. remove his copyrighted images from its LAION-5B dataset used to train AI image generators. LAION refused, claiming the use was covered by copyright exceptions, and demanded €887.03 in legal costs from Kneschke. Kneschke, through his lawyer, then filed a lawsuit at the Landgericht Hamburg against LAION, alleging copyright infringement and seeking removal and information.
- Date it happened
- 2023-04-11
- Organisation involved
- LAION e.V.
- Product, system or model
- LAION-5B dataset
This incident was imported from alltageinesfotoproduzenten.de. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.
This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.