Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, and NBCuniversal have filed federal lawsuits against Minimax, a Chinese AI company, condemning large-scale copyright infringement through Hailuo AI, an image and video generation platform. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges that Minimax “deliberately and bravely” exploited the studio's intellectual property without approval.
Media Giants claims that Minimax's Hailuo Ai Service is illegally generating high-quality images and videos of copyrighted characters, including iconic figures like Disney's Darth Vader, in a direct violation of US copyright law. In the lawsuit, describing the platform as “Hollywood studios in your pocket,” Minimax says it has built its business “from intellectual property stolen from Hollywood studios like the plaintiffs.”
Plaintiffs, including entities from Disney (Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox), Universal (Dreamworks Animation), and Warner Bros Discovery (DC Comics, Manga Network, Hannah Barbera), argue that Minibucks' actions threaten not only their rights but the wider creative industry. “The rebellion of Minimax's bootlegging business model and US copyright law…is a broader threat to the American film industry,” the lawsuit alleges, highlighting the industry's important economic and employment contributions.
In a joint statement, companies emphasized their support for responsible AI innovation, which respects intellectual property. “Today's lawsuit against Minimax shows once again our common commitment to accountable people wherever they are in violation of copyright law.”
The studio provided visual examples of the lawsuit, including images generated by Darth Vader's AI, created by simply entering a text prompt. They also pointed out that Minimax ignores stops and assumed characters and continues to work despite having technical tools that limit content generation, such as nude and filters for violence.
The lawsuit names Shanghai Xiyu Jizhi Technology Co. Ltd., the parent company of Minibucks, as the co-defendant. Minimax reportedly is valued at $4 billion and has charged more than 157 million users worldwide, but has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
The studio is seeking unspecified financial compensation or maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per work infringed, as well as a court injunction to block the use of copyrighted material.
