'Running Away Balloon' Artist Sues AI Meme Generator Over Ad Templates
Filipino cartoonist Elmer Saflor, known as “Superelmer,” sued Memes Apps, the company behind AI ad generator Memes.ai, in California, alleging it sold access to his comic “Running Away Balloon” as a template for paid advertising. The comic, posted in 2017 and later registered in 2024, appeared in Memes.ai’s subscriber library and was searchable by users. Saflor claims ordinary copyright infringement through reproduction and public display, not model-training fair use issues. He argues the copying was willful because the platform markets ads for business use and tells customers they can use generated ads in paid campaigns. He seeks an injunction, profits, disgorgement, and statutory damages up to $150,000 per work. The case could test whether AI meme-ad platforms can use creators’ works this way.
