GeraldCarter

Creator Rights Receipts

In Their Own Words: Things Adobe Argued About Creator Rights

A numbered record of some statements from filings, correspondence, and rulings in the Diversity Photos fight over creator work and AI training. Each receipt includes the quote, the source, and a brief explaination of why it matters to creators.

Receipt Index

Nine numbered receipts.

#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9

Receipt #1

The Double Standard

/receipts#receipt1

Quote A

"Respondent's use for its AI training is within the scope of use for 'developing new features and services.'"

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Quote B

"these revenue-sharing provisions relate to sales of Works to end-users and that they do not apply to use by the licensee for 'new features and services.' Without proof that the new feature or service results in a sale of a Contributed Work, the financial terms do not apply."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

It means a company can stretch contract language to take creator work for AI, then shrink the same contract when it is time to pay creators.

Receipt #2

Uncopyrightable

/receipts#receipt2
"Diversity Photos' claim is premised on uncopyrightable and unprotected ideas, concepts, principles, or familiar symbols."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

If work is valuable enough to sell and train on, but unprotected the moment a creator objects, the creator is left with value extracted and stripped away just because Adobe wants it.

Receipt #3

No Injury

/receipts#receipt3
"Diversity Photos' claims, in whole or part, are barred by lack of standing or lack of injury."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

If AI training is treated as no injury, creators can watch their work power competing systems and still be told the harm does not count.

Receipt #4

Just Leave

/receipts#receipt4
"If you do not agree to your usage of this content, you should remove the content from Adobe Stock."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

Leaving after the fact does not untrain a model; it just leaves the creator outside the marketplace after the value was already taken.

Note: Referenced in the demand letter and emails from Adobe.

Receipt #5

Indemnification

/receipts#receipt5
"[Diversity Photos] will indemnify [Adobe] and our subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, employees, partners, licensees, and licensors from any claim, demand..."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

This is the chilling effect: a creator can fight back and even win, and Adobe still points to language saying the creator may have to pay Adobe's bill and damages for the fight. Basically, pay Adobe for challenging how it used your work.

Receipt #6

Liability Cap

/receipts#receipt6

Damages cap

"Our total liability, except for any payments we owe you under section 5, in any matter arising out of or related to this Agreement is limited to US $10,000."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

If enforced, a $10,000 cap can turn nearly 12,000 AI-training images into a miniscle business cost instead of a real remedy for the creator.

Note: Damages context: If creator's calculated damages were $5,690,400 per Statement of Claims. Adobe's position was max exposure of $10,000 regardless of what happened.

Receipt #7

Well Within Our Rights

/receipts#receipt7
"As such, Adobe was well within its rights to use your client's Work in AI training datasets."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

This states the company's view plainly: They can do anything with a contributor's work without clear consent or a new deal.

Receipt #8

Transformative Intermediate Copying

/receipts#receipt8
"any use of your client's Work in an AI training dataset is likely to be found to be a fair use of that Work. Among other reasons, ... any use of your client's Work, such a use was a transformative intermediate copying that is widely acknowledged to constitute a fair use."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

That framing turns finished human work into a temporary technical step, making the creator disappear at the exact moment their work becomes useful.

Receipt #9

You Breached the Agreement

/receipts#receipt9
"Diversity Photos' claims, in whole or part, are barred by its breach of the 2018 Stock Contributor Agreement, which provides, inter alia, that Adobe is the 'exclusive distributor' of the Works submitted under the Agreement outside of Diversity Photos' direct sale of the Works absent prior written consent from Adobe, which was neither requested nor granted."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Why this hurts creators

Searching for any angle to prevent creators from being in a position of defending themselves for objecting, while the AI-use question gets pushed to the side.

Additional Context

These items are useful background, but they are not numbered receipts.

$5,000 settlement offer

"Adobe has authorized us to offer your client $5,000 to resolve this matter."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

$1,173.93 bonus context

"Adobe offered Mr. Carter (and upon information and belief, other similarly-situated contributors) a nominal bonus of $1173.93 for the use of their images to train the Firefly model, but indicated that Adobe was not required to make any payments for same under the Agreement."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Adobe declined JAMS AI Disputes Rules

"Adobe does not agree to the application of the JAMS AI Disputes Rules to this matter."

VerifiedSupporting records available.

Creator Rights Are Contract Rights

The receipts show why creators need clear consent, real compensation, and contracts that do not collapse when AI enters the conversation.

Read the Ethics Case Study