Disney and Universal filed a lawsuit against Midjourney, a popular platform of generative AI content.
They claimed that Midjourney made and distributed without permission "innumerable" copies of their emblematic heroes, such as Darth Vader from Star Wars, the Minions from Despicable me, Bart Simpson and Shrek.
"Piracy is piracy" stated the complaints' representatives. They argued that the lawsuit was needed in order to protect their significant investments into content and "the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us".
The complaints noted that the AI-firm ignored their prior explicit requests to stop the image generation of their copyrighted creations.
According to the lawsuit, "Midjourney made $300m last year alone and is planning a soon-to-be-released video service". The filed complaint sought unspecified damages and a preliminary injunction to immediately halt Midjourney from copying their protected works.
From the side of Midjourney, there was no immediate comment. CEO David Holz unofficially referred to the lawsuit, when asked about its potential effect on the company, during a weekly conference-call with users. He said: "I can’t really discuss any ongoing legal things because the world isn’t cool like that, but I think Midjourney is going to be around for a very long time".
While court cases of Creatives Vs AI-companies are on the rise, this is the first time that major Hollywood players take legal measures against AI-generators. Stakeholders expect the outcome of the case, as it may reshape the battle between Copyright Vs AI.
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Image by Fabiana Bigao. Free for use under the Pixabay Content Licence.
