Gruffalo illustrator considers legal action against AI firms

Axel Scheffler says he is seriously considering legal action against artificial intelligence companies over their use of artists’ work without permission.

The illustrator told BBC London he had been in touch with a lawyer in Germany. “There have been illustrators taking legal action against AI companies and I’m seriously considering it. I just want them to stop,” he said. He did not name a company he might pursue.

Scheffler said he was shocked after being shown AI-generated images of his characters in settings including Silicon Valley and Oktoberfest. “It’s clearly my mouse, my Gruffalo, as close as they can do it,” he said, describing the images as a breach of copyright.

The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Scheffler, was published in 1999. Scheffler is considering action in Germany because he believes the European Union is more favourable to creators. He said his aim was to protect them, rather than seek compensation.

AI companies have argued that using copyrighted material to train models does not necessarily infringe copyright. Intellectual property lawyer Nick Buckland told the BBC that a distinctive character such as the Gruffalo could help Scheffler’s case, but that proving infringement could be difficult.

In a separate case, German publisher Penguin Random House and illustrator Ingo Siegner are suing ChatGPT maker OpenAI over alleged copying of Siegner’s children’s book character, the Little Dragon Coconut. OpenAI told the BBC it was talking to rights holders about supporting creativity while protecting intellectual property and responding to copyright complaints.