Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement

Disney and Universal have recently made headlines for filing a copyright lawsuit against Midjourney, a popular artificial intelligence image-generator. This legal battle marks the first time that major Hollywood companies have taken action against a generative AI platform.

The complaint, which was filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, alleges that Midjourney has been illegally using the libraries of Disney and Universal to create and distribute unauthorized copies of their iconic characters. Some of the characters mentioned in the complaint include Darth Vader from Star Wars and the Minions from Despicable Me.

According to the complaint, the studios accuse Midjourney of being a “copyright free-rider” and a source of plagiarism. They claim that the AI company has ignored their requests to cease infringing on their copyrighted works and to implement technological measures to prevent further unauthorized image generation.

Midjourney, based in San Francisco, has yet to respond to the lawsuit or provide a comment on the matter.

In a 2022 interview with The Associated Press, Midjourney CEO David Holz likened the image-making service to a search engine that pulls images from all over the internet. He defended the use of AI technology by comparing it to human creativity and the ability to learn and create similar works based on existing pieces.

The argument over copyright concerns with AI technology has been ongoing, with major developers often citing the “fair use” doctrine of American copyright law to justify their use of publicly accessible online content to train their AI systems.

This lawsuit is part of a larger trend of legal action being taken against AI developers, with cases also being filed against companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic in San Francisco and New York. Additionally, a major copyright trial involving generative AI is currently taking place in London, involving Getty Images and Stability AI.

As the legal battle between Hollywood studios and AI companies continues to unfold, it raises important questions about the intersection of technology, creativity, and intellectual property rights in the digital age. It remains to be seen how the courts will navigate these complex issues and establish precedents for the evolving landscape of AI-generated content.