Warner Bros. Discovery is suing the generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup Midjourney for allegedly creating “countless” copies of its characters.
Midjourney has been accused of “brazenly” dispensing its intellectual property “as if it were its own” in a new lawsuit, according to a report by the Hollywood Reporter.
In the lawsuit, Warner Bros. Discovery claims that Midjourney generated “countless” images and videos of its copyrighted characters, including Superman, Bugs Bunny, and Scooby-Doo, among others.
The media conglomerate alleges the AI program has reproduced, displayed, and distributed “unauthorized derivatives” of its intellectual property through its artificial image and video generation tools.
The complaint goes on to share several examples of how Midjourney’s AI tools have allegedly created images of copyrighted characters, such as Wonder Woman, Tweety, the Power Puff Girls, and Rick and Morty after users asked the program to see the characters in specific situations.
Moreover, Warner Bros. Discovery says Midjourney generates images that violate its copyright, even if users’ prompts don’t mention one of its characters.
The lawsuit reportedly cites one example in which Midjourney allegedly created images of Superman, Batman, and Flash — which were able to be downloaded b users — after it was given the prompt: “classic comic book superhero battle.”
Disney and Universal filed a joint lawsuit against Midjourney in June.
Warner Bros. Discovery further accused Midjourney of being aware of the “breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement,” yet refusing to protect copyright holders.
“It is hard to imagine copyright infringement that is any more willful than what Midjourney is doing here,” the media conglomerate’s lawsuit reads.
“Midjourney is purposefully exploiting Warner Bros. Discovery’s valuable intellectual property to attract subscribers to Midjourney,” the complaint adds, before accusing the AI startup of profiting off “providing subscribers with endless copies and derivatives of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Copyrighted Works.”
Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly asking for Midjourney to be blocked from copying, displaying, and distributing its intellectual property. It also wants the AI program to be prohibited from providing tools without copyright protection measures in place.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
