Latest news with #DavidHolz
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Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Disney, Universal sue AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement
Disney and Universal have filed a copyright lawsuit against popular artificial intelligence image-generator Midjourney on Wednesday, marking the first time major Hollywood companies have enter the legal battle over generative AI. Filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the complaint claims Midjourney pirated the libraries of the two Hollywood studios to generate and distribute "endless unauthorised copies" of their famed characters, such as Darth Vader from Star Wars and the Minions from Despicable Me. "Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism. Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing," the companies state in the complaint. The studios also claimed the San Francisco-based AI company ignored their requests to stop infringing on their copyrighted works and to take technological measures to halt such image generation. Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. In a 2022 interview with The Associated Press, Midjourney CEO David Holz described his image-making service as "kind of like a search engine" pulling in a wide swath of images from across the internet. He compared copyright concerns about the technology with how such laws have adapted to human creativity. "Can a person look at somebody else's picture and learn from it and make a similar picture?" Holz said. "Obviously, it's allowed for people and if it wasn't, then it would destroy the whole professional art industry, probably the nonprofessional industry too. To the extent that AIs are learning like people, it's sort of the same thing and if the images come out differently then it seems like it's fine." The Recording Industry Association of America, which is engaged in its own legal battles against generative AI companies, came out in support of Disney and Universal's lawsuit. "This action by Disney and Universal represents a critical stand for human creativity and responsible innovation," RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier said in a statement. But the music industry representative did point out that there are paths forward through partnerships that can advance both sectors. Major AI developers do not typically disclose their data sources but have argued that taking troves of publicly accessible online text, images and other media to train their AI systems is protected by the "fair use" doctrine of American copyright law. The studio' case joins a growing number of lawsuits filed against developers of AI platforms such as OpenAI, Anthropic in San Francisco and New York. Meanwhile, the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry is underway in London, pitting Getty Images against artificial intelligence company Stability AI.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Two Hollywood Giants Sue AI Image Engine Midjourney Calling It A 'Bottomless Pit Of Plagiarism'
Disney and NBCUniversal are going after Midjourney, a generative-AI tool trained on internet data that can be used to make everything from silly memes to short films made entirely of AI slop. The two Hollywood companies filed a lawsuit against the self-funded startup in Federal Court on Tuesday 'to stop its theft of their intellectual property.' The complaint accuses Midjourney of profiting off user subscriptions in return for letting them generate images based on copyrighted material ranging from Deadpool and Darth Vader to Shrek and the Minions, Variety reports. Like other generative-AI tools, Midjourney is more or less indiscriminately trained on whatever data exists on the internet, no matter who it belongs to. Disney and NBC Universal even reference a past interview with the company's founder, David Holz. Asked back in 2022 by Forbes whether it gets permission for any of the work it copies, he replied, 'No. There isn't really a way to get a hundred million images and know where they're coming from.' The lawsuit alleges Midjourney made $300 million in revenue last year off of roughly 21 million users. 'By helping itself to Plaintiffs' copyrighted works, and then distributing images (and soon videos) that blatantly incorporate and copy Disney's and Universal's famous characters — without investing a penny in their creation—Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,' the lawsuit reads. 'Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing. Midjourney's conduct misappropriates Disney's and Universal's intellectual property and threatens to upend the bedrock incentives of U.S. copyright law that drive American leadership in movies, television, and other creative arts.' This is the highest-profile legal attack yet on a generative-AI company, following lawsuits by The New York Times and others against companies like OpenAI for copying written work. The outcome in court would have major consequences for the viability of a technology that companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta are investing billions in. Without the ability to essentially copy the internet for free, the entire business model behind a lot of generative-AI and large language algorithms falls part. 'Midjourney's bootlegging business model and defiance of U.S copyright laware not only an attack on Disney, Universal, and the hard-working creative community that brings the magic of movies to life, but are also a broader threat to the American motion picture industry which has created millions of jobs and contributed more than $260 billion to the nation's economy,' the companies claim in their lawsuit. 'This case is not a 'close call' under well-settled copyright law.' . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Belfast Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement
Filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the complaint claims Midjourney pirated the libraries of the two Hollywood studios to generate and distribute 'endless unauthorised copies' of their famed characters, such as Darth Vader from Star Wars and the Minions from Despicable Me. 'Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism. Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing,' the companies state in the complaint. The studios also claimed the San Francisco-based AI company ignored their requests to stop infringing on their copyrighted works and to take technological measures to halt such image generation. Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Midjourney CEO David Holz described his image-making service as 'kind of like a search engine' pulling in a wide swath of images from across the internet. He compared copyright concerns about the technology with how such laws have adapted to human creativity. 'Can a person look at somebody else's picture and learn from it and make a similar picture?' Mr Holz said. 'Obviously, it's allowed for people and if it wasn't, then it would destroy the whole professional art industry, probably the nonprofessional industry too. 'To the extent that AIs are learning like people, it's sort of the same thing and if the images come out differently then it seems like it's fine.' Major AI developers do not typically disclose their data sources, but have argued that taking troves of publicly accessible online text, images and other media to train their AI systems is protected by the 'fair use' doctrine of American copyright law. The case joins a growing number of lawsuits filed against developers of AI platforms — such as OpenAI, Anthropic — in San Francisco and New York. Meanwhile, the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry is under way in London, pitting Getty Images against artificial intelligence company Stability AI.
South Wales Guardian
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement
Filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the complaint claims Midjourney pirated the libraries of the two Hollywood studios to generate and distribute 'endless unauthorised copies' of their famed characters, such as Darth Vader from Star Wars and the Minions from Despicable Me. 'Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism. Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing,' the companies state in the complaint. The studios also claimed the San Francisco-based AI company ignored their requests to stop infringing on their copyrighted works and to take technological measures to halt such image generation. Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Midjourney CEO David Holz described his image-making service as 'kind of like a search engine' pulling in a wide swath of images from across the internet. He compared copyright concerns about the technology with how such laws have adapted to human creativity. 'Can a person look at somebody else's picture and learn from it and make a similar picture?' Mr Holz said. 'Obviously, it's allowed for people and if it wasn't, then it would destroy the whole professional art industry, probably the nonprofessional industry too. 'To the extent that AIs are learning like people, it's sort of the same thing and if the images come out differently then it seems like it's fine.' Major AI developers do not typically disclose their data sources, but have argued that taking troves of publicly accessible online text, images and other media to train their AI systems is protected by the 'fair use' doctrine of American copyright law. The case joins a growing number of lawsuits filed against developers of AI platforms — such as OpenAI, Anthropic — in San Francisco and New York. Meanwhile, the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry is under way in London, pitting Getty Images against artificial intelligence company Stability AI.
Globe and Mail
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Disney, Universal sue AI image-generator Midjourney for copyright infringement
Disney and Universal have filed a copyright lawsuit against popular artificial intelligence image-generator Midjourney on Wednesday, marking the first time major Hollywood companies have enter the legal battle over generative AI. Filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the complaint claims Midjourney pirated the libraries of the two Hollywood studios to generate and distribute 'endless unauthorized copies' of their famed characters, such as Darth Vader from Star Wars and the Minions from Despicable Me. 'Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism. Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing,' the companies state in the complaint. The studios also claimed the San Francisco-based AI company ignored their requests to stop infringing on their copyrighted works and to take technological measures to halt such image generation. Midjourney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Getty Images and Stability AI face off in first major copyright trial for AI industry Toronto AI company Cohere asks U.S. court to dismiss media publishers' copyright lawsuit In a 2022 interview with the Associated Press, Midjourney CEO David Holz described his image-making service as 'kind of like a search engine' pulling in a wide swath of images from across the internet. He compared copyright concerns about the technology with how such laws have adapted to human creativity. 'Can a person look at somebody else's picture and learn from it and make a similar picture?' Holz said. 'Obviously, it's allowed for people and if it wasn't, then it would destroy the whole professional art industry, probably the non-professional industry too. To the extent that AIs are learning like people, it's sort of the same thing and if the images come out differently then it seems like it's fine.' Major AI developers don't typically disclose their data sources but have argued that taking troves of publicly accessible online text, images and other media to train their AI systems is protected by the 'fair use' doctrine of American copyright law. The studio' case joins a growing number of lawsuits filed against developers of AI platforms – such as OpenAI and Anthropic – in San Francisco and New York. Meanwhile, the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry is underway in London, pitting Getty Images against artificial intelligence company Stability AI.
