Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit against Midjourney, alleging the AI company engaged in the “theft” of its intellectual property by using copyrighted works to develop and promote its image generation service. According to Deadline, the complaint was submitted in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and follows similar actions by The Walt Disney Co. and NBCUniversal.
Allegations in Warner Bros. Discovery’s complaint
In the filing, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) attorneys wrote that Midjourney “thinks it is above the law,” asserting the service was developed using “illegal copies” of WBD’s copyrighted works. The lawsuit claims Midjourney allows subscribers to select “iconic” WBD characters and produces infringing images and videos, including unauthorized derivatives, featuring those characters in “every imaginable scene.”
As an example, the complaint states a user can request a picture of Superman “in a particular setting or doing a particular action,” resulting in an image of the character. The same is alleged for Batman, Wonder Woman, Tweety, Scooby-Doo, and even from generic prompts like “classic comic book superhero battle.” The filing also alleges WBD’s copyrighted characters are used to market and promote Midjourney’s service, and cites a recently launched Midjourney TV streaming channel as a way to “substitute and compete” with copyrighted works.
A WBD spokesperson said the company filed the suit to protect its content, partners, and investments, calling Midjourney’s conduct “blatantly and purposefully infringing.” The Hollywood Reporter first reported on the lawsuit, per Deadline.
Midjourney’s position and broader industry context
Company response and related litigation
Midjourney did not immediately comment to Deadline on the WBD filing. The outlet noted that last month the company responded to a Disney-NBCUniversal lawsuit by arguing that use of copyrighted material in training models is fair use, describing its platform as an instrument for “user” expression that assists with image creation at users’ direction through iteration and experimentation. Midjourney’s lawyers also contended that media companies should have pursued the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s notice-and-takedown process for user-generated infringing content.
Deadline reported that studios, through the Motion Picture Association, have maintained that existing copyright law is sufficient to address AI-related issues. The article also noted legislative activity in July by Sens. Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal to require permission for using copyrighted works in training models, and included statements from Disney and NBCUniversal welcoming WBD’s action against alleged infringement.
Readers can access the filing via Deadline’s link to the redacted complaint: Read Warner Bros. Discovery’s AI lawsuit.
