Major Hollywood Studios Sue Midjourney Over AI Copyright Infringement
Warner Bros. and other major Hollywood studios are suing AI company Midjourney in federal court for copyright infringement, alleging its AI generates unauthorized images of characters.
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Overview
- Warner Bros., joined by other major Hollywood studios like Disney and Universal, has filed a federal lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Midjourney.
- The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement, specifically targeting Midjourney for allowing users to generate unauthorized AI images and videos of popular characters.
- Characters central to the dispute include iconic figures such as Superman and Batman, whose likenesses are allegedly being reproduced without permission by Midjourney's AI.
- Warner Bros. claims Midjourney is actively promoting these infringing outputs and enabling the creation of unauthorized content on its AI platforms.
- Midjourney plans to argue fair use, stating its AI was trained on billions of publicly available images to learn visual concepts, which it considers legal.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources cover this story neutrally, focusing on factual reporting of the lawsuit. They detail Warner Bros.'s allegations and demands, provide context with similar legal actions, and note Midjourney's previous defense strategy without injecting editorial bias or loaded language. The reporting prioritizes clarity and attribution.
"Warner Bros. accused Midjourney of willfully allowing WB characters to be generated in order to "generate more money for Midjourney" to potentially compete in streaming markets."
ARS Technica"Warner Bros. is suing AI startup Midjourney for copyright infringement, alleging that the company allows users to generate images and videos of characters like Superman, Batman, and Bugs Bunny without permission."
TechCrunchArticles (3)
FAQ
Warner Bros. and other studios allege that Midjourney's AI generates unauthorized images and videos of their copyrighted characters, such as Superman and Batman, without permission, constituting copyright infringement.
Midjourney defends its actions by invoking fair use, arguing its AI was trained on billions of publicly available images, and denies direct infringement. They also point out that the plaintiffs use AI tools themselves, suggesting a double standard.
Disney and Universal joined Warner Bros. in filing lawsuits against Midjourney, alleging that the company trained its AI on copyrighted content and enables users to create derivative works infringing on their intellectual property.
The legal principle of fair use is central to Midjourney's defense, as it claims training its AI on publicly available images is lawful under fair use. The case challenges the boundaries of fair use in AI training, with potential broad implications.
These lawsuits could set important precedents for how AI companies can legally train their models on copyrighted content and whether generated works infringing copyrights will be permitted, influencing both AI development and copyright enforcement.
History
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