> Does the manner in which the image is generated play into whether it infringes a copyright?
Yes, it does. Let's leave AI out for a moment.
If you lock yourself into your room with no Internet access, and you draw (or write etc) something independently that just happens to look exactly like some already existing copyright-ed work, you are still not infringing any copyrights.
If you produced the same work by making a copy, you would infringe copyright.
Yes, it does. Let's leave AI out for a moment.
If you lock yourself into your room with no Internet access, and you draw (or write etc) something independently that just happens to look exactly like some already existing copyright-ed work, you are still not infringing any copyrights.
If you produced the same work by making a copy, you would infringe copyright.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design for how that's relevant in real life.
However you can infringe on patents and trademarks with independent work, ie even if you don't just make a copy.