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Users on social media have discovered a controversial use case for Google’s new Gemini 2.0 Flash watermark removal, which works on removing watermarks from images. This Gemini watermark removal includes pictures published by Gettyimages and other well-known stock media outfits.
Recently, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model’s image generation feature, which lets the model natively generate and edit image content. It’s a powerful capability, but it also appears to have shortcomings. Gemini 2.0 Flash will ideally create images depicting celebrities and copyrighted characters. Moving forward, as mentioned earlier, this Gemini Watermark Removal can also alter and remove watermarks from existing photos.
As several X and Reddit users noted, Gemini watermark removal will not just remove watermarks but will also attempt to fill in any gaps created by a watermark’s deletion. Other AI-powered tools have this feature; however, Gemini 2.0 Flash seems exceptionally skilled and free to use.
To be clear, Gemini 2.0 Flash’s image generation feature is currently labeled as “experimental” and “not for production use.” It is only available in Google’s developer-facing tools like AI Studio. We also found out that Gemini Watermark Removal isn’t a perfect model watermark remover. Gemini 2.0 Flash struggles with specific semi-transparent watermarks and watermarks that canvas large portions of images.
Still, some copyright holders will surely take issue with Gemini 2.0 Flash’s lack of usage restrictions. Some models, including Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet and OpenAI’s GPT-4o, explicitly refuse to remove watermarks. According to Claude, removing a watermark from an image is described “unethical and potentially illegal.”
Removing a watermark without the original owner’s consent is illegal under U.S. copyright law. Hence, Gemini Watermark Removal is still under some legal constraints. However, there are some exceptions attached thereto.
Earlier this week, around 1:48 p.m. Pacific, a Google spokesperson provided the following statement:
“Using Google’s generative AI tools to engage in copyright infringement violates our terms of service. As with all experimental releases, we monitor closely and listen for developer feedback.”
