China: Hangzhou Internet Court issued a ruling finding artificial intelligence platform liable for copyright infringement (Case No. Zhejiang 0192 - Civil No 1587)

On 10 February 2025, the Hangzhou Internet Court issued a ruling on the liability of an artificial intelligence (AI) platform in a lawsuit concerning copyright infringement. The case was brought by Tsuburaya Productions, the rights holder of Ultraman, which argued that the platform facilitated infringement by allowing users to train and share models based on copyrighted material. The plaintiff highlighted that the platform enabled users to generate images resembling Ultraman using AI-powered low-rank adaptation models. The defendant claimed safe harbour protections, arguing it merely provided AI tools without supplying training data. The court ruled that an AI platform was liable for contributory copyright infringement after allowing users to generate images resembling Ultraman using AI-powered models. The court found that the platform had knowledge of the infringing activities, profited from them, and failed to take reasonable measures to prevent infringement. The court ordered the platform to cease the infringing activities and pay RMB 30,000 in damages.