Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Can Remove Watermarks. It’s a Nightmare for Copyright Enforcement.

You know watermarks. Those translucent marks splashed over images that look like, well, like somebody wrote or drew with droplets of water.

They’re the bane of people who happen upon a nice photo and just want to gaze upon it for enjoyment, but they’re important for the enforcement of ownership and copyrights for those who own the images.

Anyone who’s been half awake over the past couple of years has had to anticipate that AI image generators and editors would be able to smooth over the watermarks enough for the casual viewer not to notice or care.

That any provider of an AI image generator would allow it, though, is beyond reason. Some who responded to an X post said that Gemini 2.0 Flash refused to remove watermarks when asked, but plenty more said the program was happy to oblige. If Google doesn’t nip this in the bud quickly, it could cause havoc across the web.

Google’s Gemini 2.0 Can Remove Watermarks

Does the job well pic.twitter.com/KX7q4lmaWI

— Malhar Ujawane (@justmalhar) March 16, 2025

not the first

Users report that while unable to access the image modification tools through the normal Gemini UI, they gained access through Google’s AI Studio, a free-to-use tool that anyone can sign up for with a Google account.

There have already been programs to remove watermarks. Just because thieves are thieves doesn’t mean they aren’t necessarily hard-working and creative in finding ways around obtaining the rights to use images they haven’t paid for.

What’s a shock is that Gemini 2.0 Flash is a Google product. Doesn’t Google have a stake in maintaining copyright protections, or at least trying to stay on the good side of lawmakers as they fend off a US government inquiry into whether Google should be broken up?

Watermarks exist so that a person can get a preview of an image before they purchase the rights to use it, at which time the watermarks are removed. They serve the function of branding the image with the name of the copyright holder so that it’s easy to notice if it’s shared illegally somewhere. They also make an image just unsightly enough to be unpleasant, like looking through a dirty windshield covered in grime and bug guts.

We’re already having a tough enough time turning a buck off creative endeavors in the age of the internet. Don’t make it tougher on everyone, Google.