The recent surge in AI-generated images mimicking the distinctive style of Studio Ghibli has prompted discussions among Japanese lawmakers regarding potential copyright infringement.
During a House of Representatives Cabinet Committee session on April 16, Hirohiko Nakahara, a Strategic Officer from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), addressed the issue.
He was responding to a question from Masato Imai, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party, who raised concerns over the legality of what has become known online as the Ghibli trend.
“The so-called Ghibli-fication, or turning something into a Ghibli-like style, has become popular recently. There are discussions on whether this constitutes a copyright violation. Under the current interpretation, where is the legal line?” Imai asked.
He elaborated, explaining that “copyright law does not protect styles or ideas that do not reach the level of creative expression.” However, he cautioned that “if AI-generated content shows similarity or dependence on an existing copyrighted work, then it could constitute copyright infringement.“
Imai summarized the response by noting that using a general style remains legal, but imitating Ghibli too closely could be deemed a violation.
“I understand now that it’s legal up to the point of just copying the style, but once it’s identified as Ghibli itself, it becomes problematic,” he said.
This discussion comes in the wake of OpenAI’s March 25 announcement of its new ChatGPT image generation capability, which allows users to create images in specific art styles, including that of Studio Ghibli.
While Studio Ghibli has not issued an official statement regarding the trend, a clip of Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki expressing his disdain for AI-generated animation had resurfaced, where he described it as an “insult to life itself.”
Source: Sankei
