Elmer Saflor Sues Memes Apps Over 2017 Comic Used in AI Ad Generator
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Jul 27
Elmer Saflor Sues Memes Apps Over 2017 Comic Used in AI Ad Generator
2 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Jul 27
Summary
A lawsuit filed this month accuses Memes Apps of selling paid subscriptions to AI tools that generate copies of Elmer Saflor’s “Running Away Balloon” comic as ad templates without permission.
Saflor, a Philippines-based artist known as “Superelmer,” said he sued to force discovery into how Memes.ai and Memes AI Studio used the work commercially, even though he has not yet seen specific ads made from it.
The case could test where copyright lines fall when viral memes become paid marketing products, a question Saflor said reaches beyond his own comic.
A 2024 ruling over the “SuccessKid” meme found campaign-ad use required permission, and Internet law expert Eric Goldman said that precedent supports Saflor’s argument that commercial meme use is less likely to qualify as fair use.