Disney and Universal sued AI company Midjourney over copyright infringement, becoming the first US major to do so in a developing situation where Hollywood watches in depth.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of all the companies in the two studios, the plaintiffs alleged that Midjourney has not halted “calculated and intentional” fraudulent infringement despite demands to halt and adopt technical measures to prevent practice.
According to the complaint, Midjourney said it infringed copyright through an image generation service trained by copying the studio's copyrighted work. Subscribers can create images via a text prompt “Replica, published, and now available for download.”
The studio included photos of Yoda and other characters Stars war, Shrek, despicable me and How to Train a Dragon Franchise, The Simpsons And they said that the Marvel Studios and Pixar IPs they said were generated like this.
An excerpt from a complaint called Midjourney: “The bottomless hole of typical copyright-free riders and plagiarism.”
“Copyright piracy is copyright infringement and whether or not images or videos are being made that are being infringed by AI or another technology will not reduce infringement. Midi Joanie's actions could misappropriate Disney and Universal's intellectual property and overturn the incentives underlying US copyright law that drives American leadership in film and other creative arts.”
The studio has been focusing on the wider threat to the film industry, which claims to have “continued to be substantial and irritated” by Midi Johnny's actions, creating millions of jobs and contributing more than $260 billion to the US economy.
Headed by CEO, Midjourney was founded in 2021. According to the complaint, its subscriber base reached 220 million by September 2024.
The plaintiffs seek the greatest statutory damages and injunctive relief.
screen We have reached out to Mid Journey for comment.
