China

A Cultural Co., Ltd. v. A AI Company (Shanghai Jinshan District People's Court)

China
Shanghai Jinshan District People's Court
3 November 2025
Case number not disclosed
Judgement effective
Copyright infringement
AI training; Text and data mining; Scientific purposes; Opt‑out

Decision Summary

The court determined that Defendant Li, for commercial purposes, reproduced the original expression of the plaintiff’s “Medusa” character during the extraction of source materials and throughout the training, publication, and use of the LoRA model, and disseminated related albums, short videos, and materials to the public via the internet, thereby infringing the plaintiff’s rights of reproduction and communication through information networks. However, the court held that AI‑generated images lack copyrightability absent substantial human intellectual input; since Defendant Li did not contribute sufficient creative input, the Medusa LoRA model and AI‑generated images did not constitute protected works, and no infringement of the right of adaptation was found. The court further ruled that the platform operator was not liable, as it had fulfilled its statutory duties by providing user notices, establishing complaint and review mechanisms, promptly removing infringing models, updating screening measures, and forwarding the plaintiff’s notices, thus meeting the requirements of taking necessary measures without subjective fault.