Filipino artist Elmer Saflor, creator of the viral 2017 "Running Away Balloon" comic, has filed a lawsuit against Memes Apps LLC, which runs the AI-powered platforms Memes.ai and Memes AI Studio, alleging copyright infringement. Saflor claims the company sells paid subscriptions to an ad-generation tool that reproduces his comic as a template without permission, and he wants the case to establish clearer rules on how AI platforms may licence and commercialise viral internet content.

Saflor has not seen his meme used in an actual advert and filed suit partly to compel discovery, while Memes Apps offers subscription tiers priced at $40 and $199 a month that include access to template memes. Internet law expert Eric Goldman told Ars Technica that a 2024 ruling over the "SuccessKid" meme supports Saflor's position that using memes in adverts likely isn't fair use, though targeting the generator itself, rather than individual advertisers, is a riskier legal strategy that could have wider implications for the meme ecosystem if the court rules broadly.