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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney, Universal Launch AI Legal Battle, Sue Midjourney Over Copyright Claims
In the next chapter of Big Entertainment vs. Big Tech, Disney and Universal have filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Midjourney over tools that allow users to create images and videos that can manipulate famous characters at the click of a prompt. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday by Disney Enterprises, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century, Universal City Studios Productions and DreamWorks Animation, describes the David Holz-run generative AI firm Midjourney as a 'bottomless pit of plagiarism.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Bob Iger Says Disney Unlikely to Follow Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery In Exiting the TV Channel Business 'Oldboy' Screenwriter Sets Streaming Debut With Disney+ Korean Crime Series 'Gold Land' Disney's House of Mouse Global Tour Debuts New Mickey & Friends Collabs and Disneyland Anniversary Merch in L.A. (Exclusive) The legal salvo marks the first major foray from Hollywood against tech giants that are hoping to reorient consumer habits with personalized entertainment and information by vacuuming up data on the internet and spitting it out in the form of chatbot copy or images. So far, Wall Street has bet big that AI will be a major economic driver in the future and AI companies have raised tens of billions of dollars to realize that vision. Notably, major film and TV studios have not yet inked significant deals with AI companies to license their IP to these tech giants' tools that are now used by millions of users. That marks a different tack from major media companies, which have largely decided to take checks to license content to companies like OpenAI versus spend millions fighting in court. (The New York Times is an exception, and it has spent $10 million-plus fighting OpenAI so far.) The complaint from Disney and Universal details how Midjourney's tools easily allow users to create image-based works based on the intellectual property of Disney and Universal — think: Darth Vader or Shrek at the beach, etc. This is commonly called 'AI Slop,' and many likely already see it in their social media feeds. 'If a Midjourney subscriber submits a simple text prompt requesting an image of the character Darth Vader in a particular setting or doing a particular action, Midjourney obliges by generating and displaying a high quality, downloadable image featuring Disney's copyrighted Darth Vader character,' the complaint reads. The complaint offers AI-generated images of Vader, Wall-E, Stormtroopers, How to Train Your Dragon characters, Minions and Shrek and many more as evidence of copyright infringement perpetuated by Midjourney. And it singles out Star Wars character Yoda with a side-by-side comparison: The Hollywood studios go on to allege that Midjourney is able to provide such outputs because its tools have already ingested copyrighted intellectual property across the web as training data. 'Midjourney downloaded from the internet, and other sources, content using tools variously described as bots, scrapers, streamrippers, video downloaders, and web crawlers,' the complaint says, alleging that the AI company's CEO David Holz 'admitted that to collect the training data, Midjourney 'pulls off all the data it can, all the text it can, all the images it can.'' The studios also claim that Midjourney then 'cleaned' and converted digital files of copyrighted intellectual property to use in its training data so that its tools could then provide outputs allowing users to create things like personalized Yoda, Vader or Shrek images. 'When a subscriber enters a prompt for an image of Spider-Man, Minions, Iron Man, or any of Plaintiffs' countless copyrighted characters, Midjourney creates yet another copy of that character which it publicly displays and/or distributes via download,' the complaint reads. The lawsuit highlights that not only does Midjourney allow the creation of these works based on Disney and Universal's copyrighted characters, the AI company goes further by having them displayed in its 'Explore' section of its website — a sign that, the studios say, Midjourney is fully aware of what its product does and is capitalizing on the plagiarism. 'Midjourney's publication and curation of infringing images on the Explore page show that Midjourney knows that its platform regularly reproduces Plaintiffs' Copyrighted Works, and that the Explore page is intended to advertise Midjourney's ability to infringe the Copyrighted Works,' the complaint reads. And the complaint goes on to alleged that Midjourney has the tools in place to prevent outputs that run afoul of copyrighted intellectual property, but it choose to not enact them. 'Midjourney controls, and has the ability to control, generative outputs through readily available technical protection measures,' the studios argue. 'Despite having the ability to do so, Midjourney has affirmatively chosen not to use copyright protection measures to limit the infringement.' The top legal officer of Disney put it more simply in a strongly-worded statement accompanying the lawsuit: 'Piracy is piracy.' Using that phrasing frames the fight against Midjourney in familiar language to the studios' lobbying group, the Motion Picture Association, which also talks up its fight against piracy. But the MPA, so far, has mostly gone after websites that show unauthorized movies and TV shows, not AI companies, despite the prevalence of users flocking to AI-powered tools. 'Our world-class IP is built on decades of financial investment, creativity and innovation—investments only made possible by the incentives embodied in copyright law that give creators the exclusive right to profit from their works,' stated Disney general counsel Horacio Gutierrez. '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. But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it's done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing.' The full complaint is below:Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
International Business Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- International Business Times
Our Unwritten Seoul Star Park Bo Young Shares Exciting New Details About Upcoming Project
Our Unwritten Seoul star, Park Bo Young, has shared exciting new details about her upcoming project. The Disney+ drama will focus on the transformation of a woman named Hee Joo while she tries to protect gold bars. It will follow Hee Joo after she possesses gold bars linked to an illegal smuggling ring. She will take up a challenge to guard the gold bars from the people around her, who are consumed by betrayal and greed. Gradually, Hee Joo will try to overcome her growing greed to keep the gold. Park Bo Young will portray Hee Joo, a security screening officer at an international airport, in the upcoming Disney+ drama Gold Land. According to the actress, she chose this project because she was excited to try a new genre. Explaining the plot, the actress said the mini-series will showcase human nature to obsess over things like gold. "I'm excited to try a new genre. The process in which Hee Joo, who seemed uninterested in gold, changes as she becomes obsessed with human nature and desires will be portrayed interestingly," Park Bo Young shared. Gold Land Cast The other cast members of this upcoming K-drama are Kim Sung Cheol, Lee Hyun Wook, Kim Hee Won, Moon Jung Hee, and Lee Kwang Soo. Sung Cheol will play Jang Wook, a member of a loan shark ring known as Woo Gi. Though Jang Wook is a low-ranking member of this ring, he will join his team on a mission to get back the gold bars from Hee Joo. Jang Wook approaches Hee Joo, pretending to help her, but his true motive behind the action remains unknown. Actor Kim Sung Cheol said Woo Gi is a challenging character with complexity and suspense. Although Woo Gi appears to be trustworthy, he is always a step from betrayal. The actor teased exciting on-screen chemistry with Park Bo Young. "Woo Gi is a challenging character, and I saw it as a chance to show a different side of myself. I'm also excited about the chemistry I'll build with Hee Joo," Kim Sung Cheol said. Visual Appeal and Emotional Journey Actors Lee Hyun Wook and Kim Hee Won teased visual appeal and emotional journey in the upcoming drama Gold Land. Lee Hyun Wook will appear as Lee Do Kyung, an airline co-pilot. He lures Hee Joo into gold smuggling. Although he will be introduced as her romantic partner, it remains to be seen whether Lee Do Kyung is using Hee Joo for personal gain. The actor said overseas filming locations have added to the visual appeal of the series. "There were many parts that I was looking forward to after seeing the fresh material in the script. With overseas location filming also planned, I think the series will offer visual appeal," Lee Hyun Wook said. Kim Hee Won will star as Kim Jin Man, a seasoned detective in the violent crimes unit at the Jeongsan Police Department. The actor has teased an emotional journey for his character in the mini-series. "I've been having conversations with the director and continue to explore Jin Man's character. I'm thinking about his emotional journey, past experiences, and the choices he'd realistically make as a detective," Kim Hee Won teased. In a similar vein, actress Moon Jung Hee, who will portray Yeo Sun Ok, Hee Joo's mother, said she has high expectations for this project because director Kim Seong Hun is known for his unique work. His directorial style will add depth to the emotional landscape of this complex and unique plot. Actor Lee Kwang Soo, who takes over the role of Director Park, in-charge of Geumseong -- a lower-tier branch of the Gold Land hotel casino operation, said people of all age groups can enjoy this K-drama because it features characters who are vivid and full of life.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney+ Unveils ‘Gold Land' Penned By ‘Oldboy' Screenwriter; Park Boyoung & Kim Sung-cheol Set To Star
Disney+ unveiled a new crime thriller titled Gold Land, which will star Park Boyoung (Light Shop) and Kim Sung-cheol (The Battle of Jangsari). The series is written by Hwang Joyoon, the screenwriter behind the critically-acclaimed Korean film Oldboy. More from Deadline 2025 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming 'Out Of My Mind' Star Phoebe-Rae Taylor & Director Amber Sealey On Championing And Normalizing Disability Stories; "People With Disabilities Are So Much More Than Their Appearance" Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms & Netflix Unveil Creative Partnership Gold Land follows Heeju (played by Park), a girl from a sleepy backwater town who accidentally comes into possession of gold bars from a smuggling organization. Suddenly finding herself in a van full of gold and on the run from some of Korea's most dangerous men, Heeju heads towards the one place she swore she would never return. Kim plays Jang Wook (also known as Woogy), a member of the criminal organization chasing Heeju. However, Jang Wook and Heeju have an old bond, having lived in the same neighborhood when they were growing up. Gold Land is directed visionary director Kim Sunghoon, who also helmed Chief Detective 1958 and hit film Confidential Assignment. Gold Land joins the streamer's upcoming slate of Korean titles, including vampire series Delusion (working title), Low Life and political thriller Tempest. Earlier this month, Nine Puzzles became the most-viewed Korean title on Disney+ globally and across APAC this year. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Where To Watch All The 'John Wick' Movies: Streamers That Have All Four Films
