Artist KC Green Reaches Copyright Settlement with AI Startup Artisan

Creator of the popular 'This is fine' meme, KC Green, announced an agreement with AI startup Artisan, which had used his work without permission. The conflict escalated after Artisan’s advertisements appeared in New York and San Francisco subways, featuring an altered version of Green’s illustration.

In the original meme, a dog in a burning room remains calm, saying, 'This is fine.' In Artisan’s ad, the phrase was adapted for a corporate context: 'My pipeline is on fire,' with the character urging users to hire Ava, an AI assistant for lead management. Green publicly criticized the startup, calling the use of his work 'theft' and encouraging followers to 'ruin' the ad.

Artisan founder Jaspar Carmichael-Jack expressed respect for the artist’s work, and both parties later announced a peaceful resolution. Under the agreement, the startup removed the disputed ads, and Green deleted his critical post. The conflict underscores the growing tension between content creators and companies using AI technologies to generate or modify images.