Disney and Universal have filed a lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company, claiming copyright violations. The entertainment titans have described the image generator behind Midi Johnny’s popular AI as a “bottomless pit of plagiarism,” alleging it replicates the studios’ most iconic characters.

The lawsuit, lodged in federal court in Los Angeles, accuses Midi Joan of illegally accessing two Hollywood studio libraries and creating numerous unauthorized copies of key characters, including Darth Vader from Star Wars, Elsa from Frozen, and Minions from Despicable Me. Midjourney has not yet commented on the matter.

This legal action from Disney and Universal marks a new chapter in the ongoing battle over copyright issues related to artificial intelligence, following prior lawsuits focusing on text and music. So far, these two companies are among the largest industry stakeholders to address the implications for images and videos.

“We are optimistic about the potential of AI technology when used responsibly to enhance human creativity; however, it’s crucial to recognize that piracy and copyright infringement carried out by AI companies is unacceptable,” stated a company representative.

Kim Harris, vice-chair and legal counsel at NBCUniversal, emphasized the need to “entertain and inspire while protecting the hard work of all artists who invest significantly in content.”

The studios assert that the San Francisco-based company, one of the pioneers in AI-driven image generation, must either cease infringing upon copyrighted works or implement technical measures to prevent the creation of AI-generated images of copied characters.

Nonetheless, studios claim that Midjourney continues to release updates to its AI image service, promoting high-quality infringing images. The AI is capable of recreating animated visuals based on user prompts. These companies train their models using vast datasets, often sourced from millions of websites.

In a 2022 interview with Forbes, Midjourney CEO David Holz mentioned that he built the company’s database through extensive “internet scraping.”

The lawsuit, initiated by seven entities holding the copyrights to various Disney and Universal Pictures Film Units, includes examples of AI-generated animations with Disney characters like Yoda wielding lightsabers, as well as universal characters such as the Dragon from Kung Fu Panda, Toothless, and Shrek.

“By leveraging plaintiffs’ copyrighted materials and distributing images (and soon videos) that unmistakably incorporate beloved characters from Disney and Universal, Midi Joan exemplifies a typical copyright-free rider, creating a bottomless pit of flexible liability,” the studios claim.

Disney and Universal are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent Midjourney from continuing to copy their works or providing image and video generation services without protective measures against infringement, as well as unspecified damages.

Founded in 2021 by David Holz, Midjourney operates on a subscription model, boasting a revenue of $300 million from its services last year alone.

This isn’t the first instance of Midjourney facing accusations of leveraging artists’ works to train AI systems. Approximately a year ago, a federal judge in California found that 10 artists, alongside Stability AI and others, were in litigation against Midjourney, alleging that these companies had copied and stored their works on their servers, rendering them potentially liable for unauthorized use. This ruling allowed the lawsuit to proceed based on misuse of images, and it is currently ongoing.

This case is part of a larger trend of lawsuits involving authors, media organizations, and record labels against high-tech firms over the utilization of copyrighted materials for AI training.

When asked whether the company sought consent from artists whose works are copyrighted, Holz remarked, “It’s practically impossible to gather 100 million images and trace their origins.” In a submission to the UK government last year, OpenAI stated, “Training today’s leading AI models without the use of copyrighted materials is unfeasible.”

In late 2023, the New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, along with Microsoft (which holds a 49% stake in the startup), for allegedly misusing and regenerating text from its articles. That suit is still pending. Other media outlets, including The Guardian, have negotiated licensing agreements with AI companies to use their archives. Similarly, authors have sued Meta, claiming it used a vast database of pirated books to train the LLaMA AI model, although many of those claims were dismissed.

In June 2024, major record companies filed lawsuits against two AI companies for copyright infringement. Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group Recordings, and Warner Records accused Suno and Udio of improperly using millions of songs to create a system capable of generating derivative music.