The war over AI and intellectual property just hit hyperspace as Disney and Comcast Universal bring the hammer down on the AI company Midjourney.
In a dramatic escalation of the entertainment industry’s pushback against generative AI, Disney and Comcast’s Universal have filed a joint copyright lawsuit against the popular AI image generator Midjourney.
Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader and Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Lucasfilm
The case, filed Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles, accuses the San Francisco-based company of exploiting beloved characters like Darth Vader, Elsa, and the Minions without permission. It goes on to claim that the company is generating and monetizing thousands of infringing images through what the studios call “a bottomless pit of plagiarism.”
The Heart of the Disney Universal Midjourney Lawsuit
According to the complaint, Midjourney “pirated the libraries” of the studios’ creative works, using their most iconic intellectual properties to train its systems and output images that closely resemble copyrighted characters and designs. Among the examples cited are AI-generated depictions of Yoda with a lightsaber, Iron Man flying through the clouds, and Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear in mid-launch.
Toothless and Hiccup in the live action version of How to Train Your Dragon – YouTube, Universal Pictures
From Universal’s vault, the lawsuit references unauthorized images of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, and Po from Kung Fu Panda, all created through user prompts within the Midjourney platform.
The studios argue that Midjourney has not only failed to implement safeguards against these outputs, but has continued releasing improved models that produce increasingly detailed likenesses of copyrighted characters.
Disney and Universal Speak Out
Disney Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Horacio Gutierrez issued a sharp statement along with the filing.
“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,” he said. “But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it’s done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing.”
NBCUniversal’s EVP and General Counsel Kim Harris echoed that sentiment.
“We are bringing this action to protect the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us,” she said. “And the significant investment we make in our content.”
A History of Legal Trouble
This isn’t Midjourney’s first brush with legal controversy. Just last year, a California judge ruled that a group of artists had presented a “plausible” case that Midjourney, Stability AI, and other AI image generators had copied their artwork without permission for training purposes. That case is still being litigated and is now likely to be joined by this high-profile corporate suit.
The entrance to Super Nintendo World at Night – Photo Credit: NBC Universal
Midjourney has not yet responded publicly to the Disney Universal joint complaint. CEO David Holz, however, may have forecasted this legal storm back in 2022 when he admitted to Forbes that the company’s data acquisition process involved “a big scrape of the Internet.”
When asked whether he sought permission from creators, Holz answered bluntly.
“There isn’t really a way to get a hundred million images and know where they’re coming from,” he admitted.
That quote now sits at the center of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit.
“Calculated and Willful”
The complaint by Disney and Universal alleges that Midjourney was not just careless in its actions, but intentional.
“Midjourney’s infringement is calculated and willful,” the suit reads. “By helping itself to plaintiffs’ copyrighted works… Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider.”
Mickey Mouse in Fantasia (1940), Walt Disney Productions
The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent further unauthorized generation or distribution of content derived from their properties, and are asking the court to order Midjourney to implement technological restrictions immediately. They are also pursuing monetary damages, though no specific figure has been named in the public documents.
A Tipping Point for AI and IP
This case could mark a major turning point in the debate over AI and copyright law. Until now, most litigation has come from individual artists or smaller companies. Disney and Universal with their combined legal might adds new weight to the growing pressure on AI developers like Midjourney to be transparent about their training data and obtain licenses when using proprietary content.
The cast of Shrek 5 – YouTube, Universal Pictures
The suit makes clear that Hollywood isn’t interested in a compromise when it comes to unauthorized use of its creative catalog. Whether courts will agree that AI-generated likenesses constitute infringement remains to be seen. But this may be the lawsuit that sets the precedent.
How do you feel about Disney and Universal uniting against Midjourney? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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