A copyright battle across the Pacific has officially begun. Disney, Warner Bros., and Universal Studios, three major Hollywood studios, have jointly filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, targeting the Chinese AI unicorn MiniMax. They accuse the company of extensively infringing on copyrights through its Hai Luo AI service, using unauthorized well-known movie characters for AI training and commercial operations.
The core dispute of this lawsuit revolves around MiniMax's Hai Luo AI service. According to an 119-page complaint, users can input simple descriptions such as "Darth Vader walking on the Death Star" or "Spider-Man swinging between skyscrapers," and the system can generate high-quality video content that includes these copyrighted characters.
Image source note: The image was generated by AI, and the image licensing service provider is Midjourney.
The three film studios accuse MiniMax of adopting what they call a "pirated business model," systematically copying popular characters like Spider-Man, Batman, and the Minions, using them for AI model training, and then producing unauthorized films for commercial profit. This approach is considered to completely bypass proper licensing procedures, severely damaging the copyright rights of original works.
The economic consequences of this lawsuit could be extremely severe. The three companies not only demand that MiniMax return all profits from infringement but also request statutory damages of up to $150,000 per copyright. Considering the large number of characters involved, the total compensation could reach astronomical figures. In addition, the plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction from the court to completely prohibit MiniMax from continuing to use any protected content without authorization.
The background of this lawsuit is quite complex. As a rising force in China's AI industry, MiniMax has a valuation of about $4 billion and has received $850 million in venture capital, currently in a period of rapid development. However, the complaint reveals that Hollywood companies had previously sent multiple letters to MiniMax demanding an end to the infringement, but the company has never given a substantive response or ceased the relevant activities.
This confrontation reflects the complexity of copyright protection in the AI era. Traditional copyright law faces unprecedented challenges when dealing with AI-generated content. Determining the boundaries of training data usage and balancing technological innovation with intellectual property protection have become global issues.
From a technical perspective, MiniMax's Hai Luo AI does indeed demonstrate powerful video generation capabilities, capable of producing high-quality visual content based on text descriptions. However, this technological advantage faces serious legal risks if it is built on unauthorized use of others' intellectual property.
The outcome of this lawsuit may have far-reaching implications for the entire AI industry. If Hollywood wins, it will set a precedent for other content creators to sue AI companies, potentially triggering a wave of copyright lawsuits against AI companies. Conversely, if MiniMax successfully defends itself, it may provide new legal grounds for the use of AI training data.
For Chinese AI companies, this lawsuit serves as an important warning. While technology is rapidly advancing, they must pay more attention to intellectual property compliance, avoiding copyright issues that could impact their international development. As AI technology becomes increasingly mature, compliance will become a key factor in whether companies can succeed in the global market.
When AI technology collides with traditional copyright systems and innovation conflicts with protection, the course of this transnational lawsuit will serve as an important benchmark for copyright rules in the AI era. Regardless of the outcome, this will be a landmark legal battle in the history of artificial intelligence development.
Foreign news report: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/disney-universal-warner-bros-discovery-sue-chinas-minimax-copyright-infringement-2025-09-16/
