Disney, Universal file lawsuit against AI company over copyright violations
(MENAFN) Two of Hollywood’s biggest entertainment powerhouses, Disney and Universal, have jointly filed a lawsuit against the artificial intelligence company Midjourney, accusing it of widespread copyright violations.
Filed in the US District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the extensive 110-page suit claims that Midjourney unlawfully used copyrighted material from both studios to train its AI image generation software and produce unauthorized replicas of famous characters.
The lawsuit alleges that “countless” protected works were exploited without proper licensing or consent. The AI startup, headquartered in San Francisco and launched in 2021, reportedly generated $300 million in subscription-based revenue last year, according to the complaint.
Midjourney is portrayed in the lawsuit as “the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism.” The studios assert that the company’s AI tools reproduced recognizable figures from major franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel, The Simpsons, Shrek, Minions, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon.
Despite repeated cease-and-desist notices and requests to adopt content protection protocols, the studios claim Midjourney proceeded with newer, more powerful versions of its platform, capable of producing higher-fidelity images. The AI company is also said to be developing a video-generating service, allegedly using copyrighted footage as training data without permission.
“Midjourney could easily stop its theft and exploitation,” the studios stated in the court filing, accusing the company of continuing “bootlegging” practices that violate US copyright law. They emphasized that only the rights holders—namely the studios—are entitled to commercially exploit their intellectual properties through channels like merchandise, games, or streaming services.
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