Warner Bros Discovery filed a lawsuit against the AI photo generation company Midjourney, claiming it audaciously appropriated the studio's creations to produce images of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and various other copyrighted characters.

In a lawsuit submitted to a federal court in Los Angeles, Warner Bros claimed that the theft allowed Midjourney to enhance its image and video service, providing subscribers with high-quality, downloadable images of its characters in “every conceivable scenario.”

Warner Bros stated that Midjourney was aware its actions were inappropriate since it previously prevented subscribers from creating videos using various infringing images, only to remove that restriction last month while promoting the change as an "enhancement."

The complaint stated that Midjourney has deliberately chosen not to protect copyright owners, fully aware of the extensive level of its piracy and copyright violations.

The legal action requests unquantified compensation and the return of profits, along with an end to any additional infringements.

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This comes after a comparable lawsuit lodged in June by Walt Disney and Comcast's Universal against Midjourney regarding characters such as Darth Vader, Bart Simpson, Shrek, and Ariel from "The Little Mermaid."

Established in 2022 and directed by founder David Holz, Midjourney, located in San Francisco, had around 21 million users by September 2024 and projected revenues of $300 million for 2024, as stated in Warner Bros' complaint.

Midjourney and its legal team did not quickly reply to inquiries for comments.

In a filing dated August 6 in the Disney and Universal case, Midjourney stated that copyright law "does not grant total control" over the use of copyrighted materials.

 

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It also stated that employing those works to train generative AI models constituted fair use, supporting the free exchange of ideas and information.

Numerous authors, news organizations, record companies, and other copyright holders have charged both established and emerging AI firms in lawsuits with utilizing their content without authorization.

"A representative from Warner Bros Discovery stated, 'At the core of our mission is crafting stories and characters that captivate our audiences, realizing the vision and enthusiasm of our creative collaborators.'" "We initiated this lawsuit to safeguard our content, our collaborators, and our investments."

Warner Bros Discovery's activities encompass Warner Bros Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, and The Cartoon Network.