Warner Bros Discovery Sues Midjourney Over Copyrighted Characters
- tech360.tv
- Sep 5
- 2 min read
Warner Bros Discovery filed a lawsuit against AI photo generation company Midjourney on Thursday, alleging it "brazenly stole" the studio's copyrighted works. The suit claims this theft allowed Midjourney to generate images of characters like Batman, Superman, and Scooby-Doo.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles federal court, states that Midjourney's image and video service offers subscribers "high quality, downloadable images" of the studio's characters in "every imaginable scene."
Warner Bros alleges Midjourney "made a calculated and profit-driven decision to offer zero protection for copyright owners." This decision was made despite Midjourney's knowledge of the "breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement."
The studio also claims Midjourney knew its conduct was wrongful. It once blocked subscribers from generating videos from many infringing images, but lifted this protection measure last month, touting the change as an "improvement."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and disgorgement of profits. It also requests a halt to further infringements of Warner Bros Discovery's copyrighted content.
This legal action follows a similar lawsuit filed in June against Midjourney by Walt Disney and Comcast's Universal. That suit involved characters including Darth Vader, Bart Simpson, Shrek, and Ariel from "The Little Mermaid."
San Francisco-based Midjourney, launched in 2022, is led by founder David Holz. The company had nearly 21 million users as of Sept. 2024, according to Warner Bros' complaint.
The same complaint estimates Midjourney's revenue for 2024 at USD 300 million.
In an Aug. 6 filing related to the Disney and Universal case, Midjourney asserted that copyright law "does not confer absolute control" over the use of copyrighted works.
Midjourney also argued that using these works to train generative AI models amounts to fair use. This practice, the company stated, helps ensure the free flow of ideas and information.
A spokesperson for Warner Bros Discovery stated, "The heart of what we do is develop stories and characters to entertain our audiences, bringing to life the vision and passion of our creative partners."
The spokesperson added, "We filed this suit to protect our content, our partners and our investments."
Warner Bros Discovery's operations include Warner Bros Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, and The Cartoon Network.
The case is identified as Warner Bros Entertainment Inc et al v Midjourney Inc, filed in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, under case number 25-08376.
Warner Bros Discovery sued AI photo generator Midjourney on Thursday.
The lawsuit alleges Midjourney "brazenly stole" copyrighted characters like Superman and Scooby-Doo for its image generation service.
Warner Bros seeks unspecified damages, disgorgement of profits, and an end to infringements.
Source: REUTERS
