Disney and Universal are suing AI image generation tool Midjourney, claiming the platform makes copies of iconic characters from the media and entertainment companies.
In the lawsuit, examples of characters often generated using Midjourney include Darth Vader from Star Wars, and Marvel characters Spiderman and Hulk.
The suit characterises an ongoing dispute between Gen AI platforms and media companies. Creative studios fear their works can be wrongfully copied without consent.
This issue of copyright when using these tools is a long-standing subject when it comes to AI – both with Gen AI tools using available content to train itself, and AI outputs potentially infringing on the intellectual property of other businesses.
“A Bottomless Pit of Plagiarism”
The allegations against Midjourney are grounded in the platform enabling users to generate copies of characters owned by Disney and Universal without consent or payment.
Generally in copyright law, a case isn’t considered unlawful if a notable change is made to the creative works.
Many image generations do contain some changes, however visually these alterations are likely to differ in severity.
This is at the heart of the lawsuit against Midjourney, which the studios say is a “bottomless pit of plagiarism”. The case is the first of its kind, being the first time any major Hollywood studio has sued an AI platform.
The film industry specifically has faced contention with AI in recent years. Last year, Hollywood writers went on strike asking for protections against AI being used in the industry – the technology posing a threat to TV and film job roles.
