Disney, NBCUniversal Sue Midjourney for Copyright Infringement

Disney and NBCUniversal have filed a landmark lawsuit against Midjourney, a popular AI image generator, accusing it of widespread copyright infringement by enabling users to create images featuring characters such as Darth Vader, Minions, and others from their intellectual properties without authorization. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles federal court, alleges that Midjourney trained its AI models on copyrighted material without permission and ignored prior demands to stop infringing activities. This legal action marks the first major lawsuit by top Hollywood studios directly targeting a generative AI company, highlighting the growing conflict between content creators and AI developers over intellectual property rights. Disney emphasized that AI-generated piracy is still piracy, regardless of the technology used, underscoring concerns about AI's capability to produce near-identical works at scale and threaten creators' livelihoods. The case could set an important precedent in defining copyright law in the age of generative AI, as courts grapple with questions about the applicability of fair use to AI training and output. Midjourney has not yet responded to the lawsuit, while legal experts and advocates view the case as a critical moment for protecting human creativity against unchecked AI exploitation.