Scheffler says he is considering legal action over ChatGPT Gruffalo images

On 17 October 2026, the German news agency dpa reported that Axel Scheffler, the illustrator of the children’s book character the Gruffalo, told the newspaper Die Zeit he is considering legal action over images from ChatGPT. The English headline on Yahoo’s copy of the wire says he “intends” to take action. The sentence dpa quotes is “I am considering taking legal action.”

The German text, carried by Tagesspiegel and Badische Zeitung, quotes him telling Die Zeit: “Ich erwäge, zu klagen.” In our translation, that is “I am considering suing.” He went on: “Am liebsten würde ich mich mit anderen Künstlern zusammentun und gemeinsam vor Gericht ziehen.” In our translation, he would most like to join with other artists and go to court together. dpa says he is speaking with his publishers about possible support. Yahoo renders the second sentence as “Ideally, I’d like to team up with other artists and take legal action together.”

Tagesspiegel labels the item as a dpa newswire story and prints the credit “dpa-infocom, dpa:261017-930-854186/1”. Badische Zeitung timestamps its dpa copy at 15:45 on Saturday 17 October 2026. Yahoo’s English carries a time of 14:18 UTC the same day. Die Zeit’s own interview page was not opened for this account.

What the wire says he is doing

dpa describes consideration, a preference for a collective case, and talks with publishers. It names no court, no filing date, and no case number for Scheffler. The headline word “intends” is the English wire’s label. The quoted verb is “considering.”

What he said about the images

dpa says Die Zeit spoke with Scheffler, who works by hand, about OpenAI’s ChatGPT producing, within minutes of a request for an image of a Gruffalo, pictures with clear similarities to his work. His quoted reaction is: “Ich bin entsetzt, das ist ganz eindeutig meine Figur, nur die Hintergründe sehen ganz anders aus, als ich sie zeichne.” In our translation: he is appalled, it is quite clearly his character, and only the backgrounds look completely different from how he draws them. Yahoo’s English matches that sentence.

The suit dpa places beside his remarks

dpa says this would not be the first case of this kind. It reports that Penguin Random House, the publisher of the children’s series “Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss,” has already filed suit against OpenAI. Yahoo’s English gives the series title as “Coconut, the Little Dragon.” The allegation, as dpa states it, is that the chatbot infringed the copyright in the work of author and illustrator Ingo Siegner. The filing is dpa’s report. The infringement claim is the publisher’s allegation in that report. No complaint and no judgment were read for this account.

dpa then gives the publisher’s account. On simple queries, ChatGPT is said to reproduce content from Siegner’s copyrighted works in a recognizable form. The chatbot is also said to produce illustrations of the character that can be confused with the original, and, on its own initiative, to suggest a print-ready manuscript, including a cover, blurbs, and instructions for setting it up on self-publishing platforms. dpa says the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, supports the suit. Yahoo’s English includes the recognizable-reproduction sentence and the association’s support. It does not include the manuscript sentence that Tagesspiegel and Badische Zeitung both carry.

What dpa says OpenAI replied

dpa reports that OpenAI said it is examining the allegations. In the German text, the company is reported to respect the rights of authors and rights holders, and to be in talks with many publishers around the world so that they can benefit from the possibilities of AI technology. That paragraph follows the Siegner suit. It is not a comment on a filing by Scheffler, because the wire describes no such filing.

Yahoo’s English says OpenAI “was investigating the allegations” and then quotes: “We respect the rights of creators and content owners, and are having productive conversations with many publishers around the world so that they can also benefit from the opportunities of this technology.” The German text on Tagesspiegel and Badische Zeitung does not use the word “productive,” says “authors and rights holders” rather than “creators and content owners,” and does not put that sentence in quotation marks.

dpa adds that publishers, studios, and authors have sued OpenAI and other AI companies over training on their work, and that in Germany the collecting society GEMA prevailed against OpenAI in a dispute over song lyrics. The GEMA judgment was not opened for this account.

A separate New York complaint by USA Today Co., filed on 8 October, is covered in USA Today Co. sues OpenAI. That post is about those publishers’ allegations. The 17 October wire on Scheffler describes a man considering a case with other artists and talking to his publishers. The suit dpa says has already been filed is Penguin Random House’s, over Siegner’s series, and the claims inside it are the publisher’s.