Four individuals who used artificial intelligence to infringe on the copyrights of online artworks have been sentenced to up to 18 months in prison, along with fines, according to a recent ruling by the Beijing Tongzhou District People's Court.

The four defendants were accused of using AI software to alter original illustrations found online, creating more than 3,000 jigsaw puzzles for sale and making illegal profits exceeding 270,000 yuan ($37,556), prosecutors said.

The court found them guilty under a criminal indictment from district prosecutors, marking what is reportedly the first criminal ruling in Beijing involving copyright infringement through generative AI.

The case began when one of the affected illustrators discovered her artwork being sold online without permission and alerted police in May last year. Authorities launched an investigation and later transferred 56 CDs and three external hard drives containing electronic data to prosecutors.

"If this data were to be printed as text, it would be equivalent to millions of online novels," prosecutors said, adding that the high sales volume of the puzzles on online platforms suggested the number of affected creators could be higher. Further investigation identified six artists whose work had been infringed.

Prosecutors cited Chinese criminal law, which states that reproducing and distributing another person's work without permission for profit—when the gains are substantial or other serious circumstances exist—can result in imprisonment of up to three years and a fine, or a fine alone.

Prosecutors said they plan to issue recommendations to e-commerce platforms to strengthen oversight of AI-generated content and help ensure the healthy development of the technology within the framework of the law.