AI Gave The Monster Lederhosen

The real news

The story, straight

A Gruffalo is a big hairy monster from a children's picture book, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Permission apparently stayed on the bookshelf.

Scheffler told the BBC he is "seriously considering" legal action against AI companies and has contacted a lawyer in Germany. He has not filed a case or named a target.

"I just want them to stop," he said.

He described seeing images resembling his characters in Silicon Valley and Oktoberfest. He called this copyright theft.

The BBC does not identify the system that made them.

In our imaginary studio, Lil'meme tries erasing a monster's lederhosen. Unfortunately, it has ordered another beer.

The joke targets the machine, not the artist.

Copying duplicates a file. Training learns patterns across images to generate pictures.

AI firms argue training is not copying. That does not settle whether an output infringes copyright: an artist's legal rights over their work.

Lawyer Nick Buckland says proving infringement "could be difficult". A separate German case involving The Little Dragon Coconut awaits a spring 2027 ruling.

Practical advice: keep dated sketches and process records. Evidence matters; a legal win is not guaranteed.

Apparently originality comes with adjustable suspenders. 🚀

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Repost before the pencil needs a lawyer too.

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