Major Hollywood Studios File Landmark Lawsuit Against Popular AI Image Generator
Disney and NBCUniversal have filed a joint copyright infringement lawsuit against the creators of the generative AI tool
Midjourney. The legal action, submitted in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that Midjourney “pirated” the extensive libraries of both studios to generate and distribute innumerable unauthorized images featuring some of their most famous characters, including Darth Vader from Star Wars and the Minions from Despicable Me[2][1].
Studios Allege “Piracy” by AI Tool
According to the 110-page complaint, Midjourney has “helped itself to countless” copyrighted works from the studios’ portfolios, resulting in “innumerable” AI-generated copies of intellectual property across franchises like Star Wars, Shrek, The Simpsons, and Despicable Me. The lawsuit describes Midjourney as “the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,” making clear that, in the studios’ eyes, “piracy is piracy,” regardless of whether it is done by an
AI company or any other technology[1][2].
Studios Demand Protection of Creative Work
Horacio Gutierrez, Disney’s general counsel, emphasized the studios’ broader support for AI innovation but drew a line at what they see as outright infringement:
“We are bullish on the promise of A.I. technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity. But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it’s done by an A.I. company does not make it any less infringing.”
Kim Harris, general counsel for NBCUniversal, added:
“We are bringing this action today to protect the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us and the significant investment we make in our content.”
[1]
Midjourney Under Scrutiny in AI Copyright Debate
Midjourney, a San Francisco-based AI startup, enables users to generate a wide variety of images and visuals using advanced artificial intelligence. The studio claims the company ignored formal requests to halt infringing image generation and to implement technological safeguards to prevent future violations[2].
While leading AI firms often do not reveal the full extent of their training data sources, many rely on the doctrine of “fair use” under U.S. copyright law for training on massive sets of publicly available digital content. However, this legal argument is now being aggressively challenged by copyright holders in courts across the United States[2].
AI and Copyright Law: The High-Stakes Battle Continues
This lawsuit signals a major escalation in the ongoing clash over copyright and artificial intelligence. Disney and NBCUniversal are the first major Hollywood studios to sue a generative AI company of Midjourney’s prominence, setting a major precedent amid a wave of similar lawsuits against other generative AI developers like
ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Meta, and
Perplexity AI[1].
The case marks a pivotal moment in determining how copyright law will be interpreted in the age of advanced generative artificial intelligence — and will be closely watched by courts, technology developers, artists, and the entertainment industry worldwide.
