Author: Priyanshi Bansal and College Name: Meerut College
To the Point
“I am utterly disgusted. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” -Hayao Miyazaki
These are the words of Mr. Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Ghibli Art. He expressed his overwhelming feelings in these quoted words. The words thereby express the real feelings of an artist who devoted his entire life to capture the memories through this form of art. However, the steady hard work and patience is generated digitally through Artificial Intelligence, Chat GPT. Chat GPT is a digital platform, a product of Open AI. This platform is powered by the GPT- 4o, which is designed with advanced multimodal capabilities that enables the chatbot to generate the images with artistic fairs. They have the inbuilt auto regressive approach that assists them to create an artistic image. This has indeed enabled the generation of Ghibli AI images by Chat GPT.
However, artificial intelligence has substituted the work of artists by generating artificial artistic images. These AI images are recognised as AI art, that feeds the human art and creates flawless imitation. This growth of AI art is overwhelming for the artists as they create a mirror of imaginations, feelings, and labor of love through their artistic images. The emergence of AI- holds no emotions and values and thereby it kills the uncompensated creativity of the laborious artist.
Therefore, here comes the role of regulatory measures of intellectual property rights. Intellectual Property Rights are special rights that vest in the creator of intellectual property. Copyright is one such right that vest in the artist for their performative act and imagination. This right is a privilege to the artist to protect his artistic imagination from being replicated while being in the public domain. Henceforth, this is the need of an hour to increase the domain of copyright and trademark to safeguard the skills and techniques from the technological world. Artificial intelligence, also, may not be allowed to replicate the original form of an art through its algorithm without the permission of the creator; as in Ghibli AI.
Use of Legal Jargon
Artificial Intelligence is a programmed artificial mind that enables the machines to stimulate the human mind functioning. The intelligence is generated artificially so as to think and learn like a human being. It enables the system to adapt the new inputs and generate the output. They perform the normal tasks of humans that they do intelligently like problem- solving, decision- making, describing the reasoning and many such other things.
Open AI was a Non- Profit Organization which was established in America. It was found in 2015 that aims to outperform human activities by a highly autonomous system. In simple words, it is a team of researchers that aspire to solve human problems through artificial intelligence. However, with time the status of the company shifted from “non profit” to “profit oriented”. Chat GPT is one of the most popular projects that is an advanced form of Chatbot. Open AI has changed the world of technology as it targets to generate an artificial trained mind that would function like a human brain and would answer questions of the user.
Chat GPT is a product of Open AI company that aims to generate the artificial world of intelligence. It is a Generative Pre- trained transformer which is used as a chatbot. It is an artificial mind that gives response to every text, image and speech of the user. In simple words, it is an artificial processor that creates human-like dialogues. The purpose is to solve human problems digitally.
Studio Ghibli Art is an animation studio which has inbuilt the traditional form of Japanese art that is hand- drawn by the styling features. It is grounded on Italian words ‘Ghibli’ as well as inspired by the nickname of an Italian aircraft. The peculiarity of this Japanese art lies in the aesthetic form of nature. It is an art of bright colors which has a detailed background drawn by deep emotions. The artist celebrates the memories, emotions, sacred moments, giggling of children and many more. The artist perceives the beauty and power of nature and the natural world. Therefore, it is deemed to be the heartbeat of the artist that is influenced by European forms of art, imbibing the traditional Japanese art and culture.
Ghibli AI is the artificial form of art which is generated by the artificial intelligence from the data fed by the user. It is not created by the sweat and soul of an artist, rather it is generated by trained algorithms. It is an artificial form of original Ghibli art which is generated by Chat GPT.
Copyright is a form of intellectual property rights which is vested in the creator of the original work. This is a form of authorship that is granted for the work of creativity such as literature, music, art and many more. This right gives the holder a privilege to bring his work in the public domain, without getting it replicated. The author needs to permit the person to use his work as it is a prerogative right of the author for his labour and hardwork.
Trademark, in simple words, is another type of intellectual property rights that covers the marketplace that provides the form of goods and services. It is the right to create an identity through the words, designs, any symbol or any related combinations which lead to create a separate identity in the marketplace. This helps the customers to distinguish the competitors in the market.
The Proof
The people of modern society are becoming part of a phenomenon which is called “Ghiblification”. ‘Ghiblification’ is a process of digital transformation of an image into the form of an art whose style resembles the characteristic of Japanese Ghibli Art. The people by feeding their image on the digital program tends to regenerate that image. The digital platform using their 4o Image Generation feature develops an artistic image which looks like the Ghibli art. This viral- sensation has revolutionised social media platforms. Many of the political, cinematic, diplomatic, and business celebrities have become part of this AI trend and encouraged the world to be a part of the new digital world.
However, this revolution has stabbed the artistic style shaking the faith and confidence of the artists who usher the world with original creativity. The Ghibli AI brings a sea change in the expectation and creativity of the creators, thereby dividing the world into two. The pro- Ghibli Art experts oppose the Ghibli AI and raise ethical and legal concern in favor of the artist. The ethical concern showcases the hardships of an artist. An originator dedicates his imagination, expressions, cultural backdrops and other related features to churn out an original work. Mr. Miyazaki also invested his personal style, emotions, expression, memories and Japanese cultural backdrop to create Ghibli artistic pieces. The ethics asserts that the creator is vested with every right to utilize his creativity because it was his efforts and perseverance which created the peculiar piece. If such exclusive rights are hampered by any or everyone this would thereby affect the livelihood and inspiration of the creators. Furthermore, to guard these ethical considerations, legal concerns pay attention to legally safeguarding the rights. The IPR laws are framed to benefit the developers and creators. Copyright law shields the original work from any unauthorised use. The creators are vested with the exclusive rights to utilize, control and reproduce their own work. The legislation is framed to balance privilege of the creator and public access; that means if anyone desires to access the artistic creation then there is a need for prior permission. Nevertheless, certainly there comes no absolute legal right. An exception is always legislated to balance the right and here laws grants the exceptional right in favor of the public to have the ‘fair use’ of the original work. This exceptional favor is misused by the AI organizations as their defence. The AI organizations misuse the public access of original work and exploit it to train the AI programs and so is processed in Ghibli AI, infringing the copyright of Studio Ghibli that makes them the sole user of Ghibli art. However, the copyright laws guard the original work of the creators but fall short to cover the specific style of that work. There is a grey area in the law that determines whether any specific style of the original work is covered by the law or not.
Moreover, there lies another concern of data privacy. According to many legal experts, once the data is fed on the program it can be used in any way at any time. There would not be any control of the author. This uncontrollable access to the data breaches the privacy of users. The professionals have also urged the users not to feed their data on the AI platforms because it can be misused to harass or defame the person. Therefore, these are some challenges of the initial stages that need proper guidance and directions for the protection of the future.
Abstract
Ghibli Art is a magical animation which is based on anime culture. This is a hand drawn animation that focuses on a traditional form of techniques which portrays the love bound memories and emotions in the Japanese art. It has a unique form of storytelling which is composed of the watercolors background. Ghibli is peculiar in the disney world because the stories cherish the common human experiences and emotions. Therefore, in the 21st century, Ghibli art is a fashion that has turned to be aesthetic. It is followed all over the world in the form of culture. Indeed, this artistic magic symbolizes love and emotions behind every scene. This is the imagination of Mr. Miyazaki who moved the anime culture and thereby named his Studio as ‘Ghibli’.
However, the essence of this artistic evolution is diluted by Ghibli AI. Artificial Intelligence has disrespectfully replicated the aesthetic form of artistic work. The technological advancement of Chat GPT can generate artistic images digitally, similar to the creation of “Studio Ghibli Art”. This evolves a legal question in respect of the violation of copyright and IP laws. There lies a complex situation in nexus to the grey area of whether the copyright laws protect the style of creativity of an artist because Ghibli AI fabricates the art style of ‘Ghibli Studio’. Moreover, there also lies an ethical concern showcasing the hardship, dedication and imagination of an artist. The AI advancement is devaluing the original work and efforts of the artists. Therefore, it’s the right time to legally balance technological advancement and the rights of the creators. The legal framework needs to show the clear path, harmoniously.
Case Laws
- Kanchan Nagar & Ors v UOI & ors.
The petitioners addressed the issue for the infringement of copyright through PIL. The petitioners alleged that original artistic works are misused by the AI softwares without any permission of the creators. The case is yet to be decided as there is no existing legal framework for regulating the advancement of AI technology.
- ANI Media v Open AI, 18th March, 2025
This is a pending case filed by Asian News International in the Delhi High Court against Open AI in reference to the infringement of copyright. The petitioners alleged that Open AI is being trained by their content and such training was developed without the petitioner’s permission. Moreover, they also challenged that Open AI is disseminating false news stories which thereby needs the injunction orders. Therefore, Hon’ble DHC has framed the four issues for discussion. The court is burdensome to construe the Doctrine of ‘fair use’.
Conclusion
Ghibli Art, an aesthetic form of art, is indeed revolutionised in the technological advancement of the 21st century by Open AI. The capacity of AI to fabricate the art form has raised a serious legal question. Ghibli Studio, despite expressing the heart-core disappointment, is yet to bring a lawsuit against the parent company of Chat GPT, Open AI. The fabrication of Ghibli Art has perplexed the society with respect to the originality of the image. Open AI has demeaned the market reputation of Studio Ghibli which was especially recognised for their artistic peculiarities and dedication. Nonetheless, this has become a fun trend in the society that raises an alarm for the legislators to thereby control the misuse of technology.
Therefore, the endnote reinstates that there is a need for proper legislation which can control and regulate the usage of technology. The guidelines should be framed in such a way that there is consonance of judicial interpretation and legislative initiatives to construct a bridge between the artistic minds and technological minds. This will indeed unfold the role of creativity and technological advancement. Moreover, there is a call for a revised interpretation of the definition of ‘fair use’ in the Copyright Act and a direction for AI to which extent it can access the original creation without the prior permission. Hence, the heart- wrenching statement of Mr. Miyazaki are the words to the wise that signal the legislators, all over the world, to think over the future rights of creators and originators.
FAQ
- How is the trademark right of Studio Ghibli affected by Ghibli AI?
The form of ‘style’ of the Japanese anime animation is the core point that makes the Ghibli art as an unique art. However, trademark law falls short to protect the distinctive and magical form of style drawn by Ghibli Studio. Nonetheless, still the trademark right of Studio would be adversely affected by ‘Ghiblification’ because the admirers and enthusiasts of Studio Ghibli are influenced by the erroneous information of permission and collaboration of Studio and Open AI. Therefore, this false coopetition affects the trademark laws.
- How does Ghibli AI affect data privacy?
Chat GPT generates a digital photo in the form of Ghibli art from the data feed by the users. It is indeed expected that such data is used for the training of Chatbot which can be misused anytime by the artificial intelligence without the prior permission. Therefore, once the data is fed in the Chatbot, the user would lose the control over such information and it can even be used to harass or demean the user. In addition, the Proton company also gave red signals to the users about data privacy.
- What is the basic reason behind the Ghibli AI controversy all over the world?
Ghibli AI is in controversy all over the world because the purpose for development of artificial intelligence was the time utilisation by the people i.e. in case of hardships the user can be benefitted. However, AI has no controlling boundaries which thereby devalue the creativity of the artist. It lacks emotions and hardships carried by an artist. Indeed, due to these reasons Ghibli AI is in the war of words.
