Disney and NBCUniversal have initiated a landmark federal lawsuit against Midjourney, a generative AI company, accusing it of massive copyright infringement involving unauthorized use of their copyrighted characters to train its AI and generate images and soon videos. The 110-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Midjourney “helped itself to countless” copyrighted works from Disney and Universal franchises, including Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, The Simpsons, DreamWorks, Shrek and the Minions, without permission, and then distributed AI-generated images that blatantly replicate these iconic characters to millions of users through paid subscription plans ranging from $10 to $120 per month.
The studios describe Midjourney as a “quintessential copyright free-rider” and a “bottomless pit of plagiarism,” emphasizing that the company profits from their intellectual property without investing in content creation or compensating rights holders. Despite repeated cease-and-desist letters, Midjourney allegedly ignored the demands and even enhanced its AI tools to produce higher-quality infringing images, with plans to launch commercial AI video generation services that would likely exacerbate the infringement.
The lawsuit details numerous examples of Midjourney generating images that closely resemble copyrighted characters, sometimes even when users input generic prompts. For instance, a prompt like “Darth Vader walking around the Death Star with a red lightsaber” produces a detailed image resembling the Star Wars villain, and a generic prompt such as “yellow 3D cartoon character with goggles and overalls” yields images resembling Universal’s Minions.
Disney and NBCUniversal claim both direct and secondary copyright infringement, arguing that Midjourney’s training process itself, ingesting countless copyrighted works without authorization, constitutes infringement. They assert that AI-generated images do not receive special exemptions from copyright law simply because they are created by new technology. The studios seek unspecified monetary damages, including treble damages for willful infringement, injunctive relief to prevent further unauthorized use and distribution, pre-judgment interest, and attorneys’ fees, and a jury trial to hold Midjourney accountable.
The lawsuit stresses that Midjourney’s business model threatens the foundational incentives of U.S. copyright law that support the American film and television industry, which contributes over $260 billion annually to the economy and sustains millions of jobs. The studios emphasize that this case is not a “close call” under existing copyright law and that Midjourney’s disregard for legal norms jeopardizes the broader creative ecosystem.
This case marks the first major copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Hollywood studios against an AI company, representing a strategic escalation in the entertainment industry’s legal response to generative AI technologies. It reflects growing frustration among creators and studios over AI firms’ widespread use of copyrighted materials without permission or compensation. The Motion Picture Association has praised the lawsuit, underscoring that strong copyright protection remains “the backbone of our industry” and is essential to safeguarding creative investment against rampant digital piracy enabled by AI.
Disney and NBCUniversal’s lawsuit against Midjourney may be a pivotal moment in the intersection of AI and copyright law. It challenges the legality of training AI models on copyrighted content without authorization and the distribution of AI-generated images that replicate protected characters. The outcome could set important precedents for how copyright law applies to generative AI, influencing the future development and regulation of AI technologies in creative industries..