Gruffalo Illustrator Considers Lawsuit Against AI Companies

Axel Scheffler, illustrator of the Gruffalo, is considering legal action against generative AI companies over images that closely resemble his characters, Heise reports, citing an interview with Die Zeit. Scheffler said chatbot generated images retained his characters while changing their backgrounds.

Scheffler is seeking legal advice and discussing possible institutional support with his publishers. He would prefer to pursue a joint case with other artists.

German publishers are already pursuing similar claims against OpenAI. Penguin Random House and author and illustrator Ingo Siegner sued over images of The Little Dragon Coconut, while Carlsen Verlag, author Marc-Uwe Kling and illustrator Astrid Henn filed a case involving The NOhorn. OpenAI argues that its models learn patterns and relationships rather than storing works in a conventional database or deliberately reproducing them.