Disney and Universal team up to sue AI photo generator Midjourney, claiming copyright infringement
New York
CNN — Disney and Universal are suing AI photo generation company Midjourney, marking the first major legal showdown between Hollywood studios and an artificial intelligence company.
Midjourney, which enables users to create realistic-looking images from a text prompt in just seconds, is one of the most popular AI image generators. The movie companies allege that Midjourney trained its AI models on their intellectual property and that it generates images featuring their famous characters in violation of copyright law, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in California federal court.
In their complaint, the studios call Midjourney a 'virtual vending machine' and 'bottomless pit of plagiarism' that generates 'endless unauthorized copies of Disney's and Universal's copyrighted works.'
Most large, publicly available AI models are trained on large repositories of data, including images and video, from across the internet, often without asking permission. Artists, authors, musicians and Hollywood actors have also raised concerns about their work or likeness being used to train generative AI tools, which could then be used to replace them. Midjourney and other AI firms were sued in a separate copyright infringement case by a group of visual artists in 2023, which the companies have sought to dismiss but which is currently in discovery.
But Wednesday's lawsuit marks the first time major Hollywood studios have sued an AI company.
The lawsuit cites instances where Midjourney could easily be prompted to generate popular Universal and Disney characters, including Star Wars characters, Bart Simpson, Shrek, Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid,' Wall-E, the minions from the film 'Despicable Me' and more.
Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But in response to the 2023 lawsuit, Midjourney argued that any single image created by AI 'comprises an infinitesimal fragment of a model's training, just as each visual (every face, sunset, painting) an artist has ever perceived and every text a writer has ever read comprises a tiny fraction of the content and imagery that inform their imagination.'
Disney's legal team says that its suit is over simple copyright infringement, however.
'We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity,' Horacio Gutierrez, Disney's senior executive vice president and chief legal and compliance officer said in a statement to CNN. 'But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it's done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing.'
The Motion Picture Association also weighed in on the lawsuit on Wednesday, with Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin calling copyright protection 'the backbone of our industry.'
'A balanced approach to AI that both protects intellectual property and embraces responsible, human-centered innovation is critical for maintaining America's global leadership in creative industries,' Rivkin said in a statement.
Disney and Universal claim Midjourney has 21 million subscribers and earned $300 million in revenue last year.
Disney and Universal previously asked Midjourney to stop any alleged infringement or to implement technology to prevent users from generating images featuring their intellectual property, but the company has 'ignored' their requests, according to the complaint.
'Midjourney already has in place technological measures to prevent its distribution and public display of certain images and artwork such as violence or nudity,' the complaint states. 'And other AI image- and video-generating services have instituted copyright protection measures that recognize and protect the rights of content creators like Disney and Universal.'
Disney and Universal are seeking $150,000 per infringed work and an order preventing future copyright infringement by Midjourney, among other damages, their complaint states. An exhibit to the complaint lists more than 150 works that were allegedly infringed — meaning damages from the lawsuit, if Disney and Universal win, could top $20 million.
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Disney and Universal team up to sue AI photo generator Midjourney, claiming copyright infringement
New York CNN — Disney and Universal are suing AI photo generation company Midjourney, marking the first major legal showdown between Hollywood studios and an artificial intelligence company. Midjourney, which enables users to create realistic-looking images from a text prompt in just seconds, is one of the most popular AI image generators. The movie companies allege that Midjourney trained its AI models on their intellectual property and that it generates images featuring their famous characters in violation of copyright law, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in California federal court. In their complaint, the studios call Midjourney a 'virtual vending machine' and 'bottomless pit of plagiarism' that generates 'endless unauthorized copies of Disney's and Universal's copyrighted works.' Most large, publicly available AI models are trained on large repositories of data, including images and video, from across the internet, often without asking permission. Artists, authors, musicians and Hollywood actors have also raised concerns about their work or likeness being used to train generative AI tools, which could then be used to replace them. Midjourney and other AI firms were sued in a separate copyright infringement case by a group of visual artists in 2023, which the companies have sought to dismiss but which is currently in discovery. But Wednesday's lawsuit marks the first time major Hollywood studios have sued an AI company. The lawsuit cites instances where Midjourney could easily be prompted to generate popular Universal and Disney characters, including Star Wars characters, Bart Simpson, Shrek, Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid,' Wall-E, the minions from the film 'Despicable Me' and more. Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in response to the 2023 lawsuit, Midjourney argued that any single image created by AI 'comprises an infinitesimal fragment of a model's training, just as each visual (every face, sunset, painting) an artist has ever perceived and every text a writer has ever read comprises a tiny fraction of the content and imagery that inform their imagination.' Disney's legal team says that its suit is over simple copyright infringement, however. 'We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity,' Horacio Gutierrez, Disney's senior executive vice president and chief legal and compliance officer said in a statement to CNN. 'But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it's done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing.' The Motion Picture Association also weighed in on the lawsuit on Wednesday, with Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin calling copyright protection 'the backbone of our industry.' 'A balanced approach to AI that both protects intellectual property and embraces responsible, human-centered innovation is critical for maintaining America's global leadership in creative industries,' Rivkin said in a statement. Disney and Universal claim Midjourney has 21 million subscribers and earned $300 million in revenue last year. Disney and Universal previously asked Midjourney to stop any alleged infringement or to implement technology to prevent users from generating images featuring their intellectual property, but the company has 'ignored' their requests, according to the complaint. 'Midjourney already has in place technological measures to prevent its distribution and public display of certain images and artwork such as violence or nudity,' the complaint states. 'And other AI image- and video-generating services have instituted copyright protection measures that recognize and protect the rights of content creators like Disney and Universal.' Disney and Universal are seeking $150,000 per infringed work and an order preventing future copyright infringement by Midjourney, among other damages, their complaint states. An exhibit to the complaint lists more than 150 works that were allegedly infringed — meaning damages from the lawsuit, if Disney and Universal win, could top $20 million.
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'The motion by Marvel Entertainment, LLC ('Marvel') to quash a subpoena issued to Marvel from the Wayfarer Parties and for a protective order prohibiting the disclosure of Marvel's confidential documents is GRANTED,' Judge Liman wrote. 'The information sought is no longer relevant to a claim or defense in this action. Moreover, assuming the information were relevant, it would not be proportional to the needs of the case and the potential harm to Marvel of disclosing confidential commercial information.' The move comes months of back and forth on the matter between attorneys for Baldoni and the studio, which was trying to quash the director's efforts to obtain the material in his ongoing legal battle with Lively. On January 7, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman, sent a litigation hold letter to Marvel president Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger, instructing the studio to preserve all relevant documents and data with regard to Baldoni. That letter came one week before the 'It Ends With Us' director filed a civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds for $400 million, claiming that the married power couple sought to 'destroy' him with false harassment claims and an alleged smear campaign. Marvel was subpoenaed on February 14. Baldoni's attorneys have argued that Reynolds was intentionally mocking and bullying Baldoni in a four-minute scene in Marvel's 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' which was released by Disney in July. On screen, Reynolds played 'Nicepool,' a misogynistic alternate version of the titular protagonist Deadpool, and served up such lines as 'Where in God's name is the intimacy coordinator?!' while complimenting Ladypool for 'snapping back' into shape after giving birth. The lines echo elements of Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni and two of his publicists, in which she claims she was the victim of sexual harassment on the set of 'It Ends With Us' and a subsequent smear campaign for speaking up about alleged mistreatment. Lively, who appears in the same scene as Ladypool, accused Baldoni of sexually harassing and fat-shaming her postpartum body on the set of 'It Ends With Us.' When Deadpool points out Nicepool's sexism in the scene, the latter replies, 'It's OK, I identify as a feminist.' During the development, production, and marketing of 'It Ends With Us,' a drama about domestic violence, Baldoni often touted his credentials as a feminist and ally to women. On April 2, the studio's attorney, Adam Levin at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, wrote to Freedman, asking him to withdraw the subpoena because disclosure of the documents 'is likely to substantially harm Marvel' and 'irrelevant to the claims asserted in this case.' Levin added, 'The requested documents are particularly sensitive because they relate to the development of a character in an ongoing movie franchise. Marvel has built the success of the MCU in large part by interconnecting storylines, plots, and characters across its titles, including 'crossover' events and sequels. Whether and how such elements will appear in upcoming, unreleased projects is the subject of much public interest, and this information is closely guarded by Marvel.' The Marvel attorney asked Freedman to agree to defer the return date of the subpoena 'until after the Court decides Reynolds' pending motion to dismiss.' On April 25, Marvel attorney Jacob Albertson wrote to Judge Liman to request that the court quash the Baldoni subpoena. Albertson made similar arguments to those Levin previously made and added that producing any documents and communications concerning Baldoni would prove to be 'unduly burdensome.' He added, 'The Wayfarer Parties certainly have other, less burdensome means through which they can obtain relevant information (if any exists) from the parties in the action, such as a request for admission or a party deposition.' Three days later, Baldoni's lawyers, Mitchell Schuster and Kevin Fritz of Meister Seelig & Fein, shot back with a letter to Judge Liman. 'Marvel does not explain how the Subpoena is unduly burdensome, especially given the Wayfarer Parties' agreement to narrow the scope thereof, and Marvel does not claim it will incur significant expense to locate and produce the documents,' the letter stated. Freedman's initial litigation hold letter was far broader and asked the studio to preserve communications concerning Tim Miller, who directed the first 'Deadpool' movie but did not return for the sequel or 'Deadpool & Wolverine.' Miller and Reynolds are known to have clashed. 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