LOS ANGELES: Warner Bros Discovery has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence photo generation company Midjourney for allegedly stealing its copyrighted characters.
The entertainment giant claims Midjourney brazenly used its works to generate images of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny and Scooby-Doo without permission.
Warner Bros stated in a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court that the theft enabled Midjourney to train its service to offer subscribers high quality downloadable images of its characters.
The company also alleged that Midjourney knew its conduct was wrongful because it once blocked subscribers from generating videos from infringing images before lifting that protection last month.
“Midjourney has made a calculated and profit-driven decision to offer zero protection for copyright owners even though Midjourney knows about the breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement,“ the complaint said.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and disgorgement of profits along with a halt to further infringements.
This legal action follows a similar lawsuit filed in June against Midjourney by Walt Disney and Comcast’s Universal over characters including Darth Vader, Bart Simpson, Shrek and Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
San Francisco-based Midjourney had nearly 21 million users as of September 2024 and an estimated $300 million of revenue in 2024 according to Warner Bros’ complaint.
Midjourney and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the allegations.
In an August filing in the Disney and Universal case, Midjourney argued that copyright law does not confer absolute control over the use of copyrighted works.
The company also stated that using those works to train generative AI models amounted to fair use helping ensure the free flow of ideas and information.
Many authors, news media, record labels and other copyright owners have accused AI companies of using their materials without permission in various lawsuits.
“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,“ a Warner Bros Discovery spokesperson said.
“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. – Reuters