According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery has sued the AI startup Midjourney, accusing it of generating a large number of unauthorized derivative works based on copyrighted characters using its AI image and video generation tools.
The lawsuit states that Midjourney's tools "recklessly treat its intellectual property as their own" and have generated a large number of images of Warner Bros.' copyrighted characters, including Superman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, among others.
Warner Bros. Discovery accuses Midjourney of unauthorized reproduction, display, and distribution of its intellectual property. The lawsuit lists multiple examples showing that Midjourney's AI tool generated images of characters such as Supergirl, Tweety, the Powerpuff Girls, and Rick and Morty when given prompts about specific characters. Moreover, Warner Bros. claims that even when specific characters were not mentioned in the prompt, Midjourney still generated infringing images. For example, when given the prompt "classic comic book superhero battle," Midjourney generated downloadable images of Superman, Batman, and the Flash.
In addition, Midjourney is also facing similar copyright lawsuits from Disney and Universal Studios, which claim that Midjourney's AI image generator is a "virtual vending machine" that continuously generates an endless number of licensed copies of their works. Warner Bros. Discovery claims that Midjourney is aware of its "remarkable scale of piracy and copyright infringement" but refuses to protect the rights of copyright holders.
The lawsuit emphasizes: "Imagine that Midjourney's copyright infringement is almost unparalleled." Warner Bros. Discovery believes that Midjourney is intentionally using its valuable intellectual property to attract users to subscribe and profit by providing an endless supply of Warner Bros. copyright works.
Warner Bros. Discovery is asking the court to compensate for Midjourney's copyright infringement and requests the court to prohibit Midjourney from reproducing, displaying, or distributing its intellectual property. It also asks Midjourney to implement copyright protection measures when providing AI tools. Midjourney has not yet commented on this lawsuit.
Key Points:
📜 Warner Bros. Discovery sues Midjourney, accusing it of generating a large number of infringing character images.
🎨 Midjourney's AI tool can generate infringing images even when no specific character is mentioned.
⚖️ Warner Bros. Discovery requests the court to stop Midjourney's infringement and seek compensation.
