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Arstechnica
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In landmark suit, Disney and Universal sue Midjourney for AI character theft
- Disney and NBCUniversal have filed a lawsuit against AI company Midjourney for copyright infringement, allowing users to create images of characters like Darth Vader and Shrek.
- The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Los Angeles, is the first major legal action by Hollywood studios against a generative AI company.
- Midjourney is accused of enabling users to generate personalized images of copyrighted characters using AI image-synthesis.
- The studios claim Midjourney trained its AI model on copyrighted content without permission, leading to the creation of unauthorized images.
- The legal complaint includes visual examples showing AI-generated versions of characters like Yoda, Wall-E, Stormtroopers, Minions, and more.
- Disney's general counsel stated that infringement by an AI company does not make it any less illegal, emphasizing the issue of piracy.
- The studios argue that Midjourney actively promotes copyright infringement by displaying copyrighted characters in its platform's 'Explore' section.
- Midjourney supposedly has technical protection measures to prevent infringing outputs but has chosen not to implement them.
- Prior to the lawsuit, Disney and NBCUniversal tried to address the issue with Midjourney, but the company allegedly continued to release infringed images.
- NBCUniversal's executive vice president highlighted the lawsuit's purpose to protect the artists' work and the studios' significant content investments.
- The legal action demonstrates Hollywood's new front concerning AI copyright issues, with major studios potentially uniting against tech companies.
- Other studios like Amazon, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Sony, and Warner Bros. are not part of the lawsuit but are members of the Motion Picture Association.
- The conflict highlights the studios' efforts to protect intellectual property in the face of AI advancements and potential copyright violations.
- Midjourney's platform allows users to submit prompts for AI-generated images, leading to the creation of unauthorized images of well-known characters.
- The lawsuit follows similar legal moves in different creative industries, indicating a trend of addressing AI-related copyright concerns.
- Various copyrighted characters from different studios were found in the AI-generated images provided as evidence in the legal filing by Disney and NBCUniversal.
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