Disney and Universal sue AI company for stealing characters

Disney and NBCUniversal have launched a joint lawsuit against the generative AI company, Midjourney, accusing it of unlawfully using copyrighted material to train its image-producing software and create unauthorised reproductions of their intellectual property. This legal battle represents one of the first major confrontations between Hollywood content creators and artificial intelligence firms over intellectual property rights. The suit has been filed in a California federal court.

According to the entertainment giants, Midjourney’s publicly accessible image generation tool displays thousands of images that infringe on their copyrights. These were reportedly produced using original works created and owned by Disney and NBCUniversal. The legal filing highlights how the software has allegedly scraped the internet for copyrighted content, leveraging these works without permission or license. Midjourney has yet to comment on the case.

Horacio Gutierrez, Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Disney, underscored the critical importance of intellectual property laws in fostering innovation and creativity. He emphasised how Disney’s success is built on decades of substantial investment in original content. He remarked that piracy, even when conducted using advanced AI tools, cannot be excused and must be addressed under existing copyright laws.

Kim Harris, Vice-President and General Counsel at NBCUniversal, echoed these sentiments, asserting that this legal action is designed to protect the creative efforts of the artists and creators behind their content. She declared that theft through technology remains theft and that the unauthorised use of their intellectual property undermines both artistry and investment in original productions.

Midjourney, which was founded in 2021 by David Holz, has gained widespread attention for its advanced image-generation capabilities. The company generated over $100 million in revenue last year, largely by allowing users to create AI-generated images based on text prompts. AI companies like Midjourney require enormous amounts of data, including images, videos, and text, to train their models. However, the practices involving material scraping have raised significant copyright concerns within the creative industries.

This legal development comes against a broader backdrop of growing tensions between the creative industries and AI firms. In the UK, debates over whether AI developers should be allowed to scrape copyrighted materials without explicit permission have sparked fierce criticism from artists, authors, and musicians. Notable figures such as Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney have warned that easing restrictions for AI companies could devastate the creative sector.

The results of this lawsuit could shape the future of how intellectual property is treated in the age of artificial intelligence. With Disney and NBCUniversal taking a firm stand, this case is likely to have far-reaching implications for both creators and emerging AI technologies.