If I had a nickel for every time a major entertainment company sued the AI image and video company Midjourney, I’d now have 15 cents. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Midjourney, following a similar lawsuit from Disney and Universal earlier this year. The recent lawsuit alleges that the AI company violated the entertainment company’s copyright protections by allowing users to create images featuring characters like Batman, Scooby-Doo, and Bugs Bunny.
“Midjourney believes it is above the law,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in the complaint. “Midjourney made a calculated, profit-driven decision to offer zero protection to copyright owners, even though Midjourney knows the breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement.”
Midjourney is one of the most popular AI image generators, allowing anyone to create AI images and video clips with simple text prompts. The process covers Warner Bros. Entertainment and its subsidiaries, including DC Comics, Cartoon Network, and Hanna-Barbera Productions.
In the lawsuit, Warner Bros. Discovery points to Midjourney’s recent release of a video generation model as evidence that the AI company knew it was infringing copyright. In the early days of releasing the video model, the lawsuit alleges, Midjourney prevented users from animating scenes with characters. The restrictions were eventually lifted, but Warner Bros. attributes this to Midjourney’s knowledge of wrongdoing. Warner Bros. Discovery also alleges that the AI company updated its Terms of Service to prohibit RedTeaming, a use of security process technology.
Copyright infringement claims are not new to Midjourney. In June, Disney and Universal sued the AI program, calling it “a bottomless pit of plagiarism” and “textbook copyright infringement” in their filing. Warner Bros. Discovery is represented by the same law firm that filed the lawsuit on behalf of Disney and Universal.
A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson told CNET, “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. Midjourney is flagrantly and willfully infringing copyrighted works, and we filed this lawsuit to protect our content, our partners, and our investments.” Statements from Disney and NBCUniversal spokespersons expressed similar sentiments. Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This lawsuit is further evidence that copyright is one of the most contentious legal issues in the AI era. Concerns arise at every stage of AI content creation, including whether copyrighted materials are used to train AI models and whether those models can create content that meets the legal definition of infringement.
There are also ongoing cases between publishers, creators, and AI companies. AI companies Antropia and Meta recently won two victories, with courts ruling that training their models on authors’ books constituted fair use. But many legal questions and uncertainties remain.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against Openai, alleging that it violated Ziff Davis Copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
This is just step one in the process. Midjourney users should not expect any disruptions as a result of the legal battle.
