With all of the hubbub surrounding the growing wave of generative artificial intelligence (AI) lawsuits, a recent court decision involving a generative AI-powered app has received surprisingly little attention, despite addressing issues that will be relevant in other, higher profile AI litigation.

The case, Kyland Young v. NeoCortext, Inc., involved a photo-editing app, called Reface, that uses generative AI technology to allow users to manipulate photos and videos, including to swap faces with celebrities within photos and videos. A celebrity sued, and, in rejecting the app developer’s motion to dismiss, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held that the developer’s use of generative AI to superimpose user faces onto celebrity images could violate California’s right of publicity law. While this case is ongoing, Young illustrates the potential liability companies face when developing and using generative AI based on images and videos of celebrities.

Read the full blog post here on the Age of Disruption.