AI company is already facing legal action from Disney and Universal over alleged copyright infringements
Warner Bros Discovery has become the latest US studio to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI outfit Midjourney, which is already being sued by Disney and Universal.
WBD’s claim, filed on Thursday in LA’s District Court, accuses the company of allowing Midjourney subscribers to create images and videos of copyrighted characters that it owns, such as Scooby-Doo, Superman and Batman.
The David Zaslav-led company argued Midjourney “brazenly dispenses Warner Bros. Discovery’s intellectual property” as its own. The suit adds that the accessibility to WBD characters is a “clear draw” for Midjourney customers, who pay between $10 and $120 a month for its software.
A WBD statement added: “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 blatantly and purposefully infringing copyrighted works, and we filed this suit to protect our content, our partners, and our investments.”
WBD said it is seeking profits from the alleged infringement or $150,000 per infringed work.
Midjourney, which had not commented at press time, is already at the centre of a joint suit from Disney and Universal, which accused the company of being a “bottomless pit of plagiarism.”
The Mouse House said it was “pleased to be joined by Warner Bros Discovery in the fight against Midjourney’s blatant copyright infringement.”
An NBCUniversal statement added: “Creative artists are the backbone of our industry, and we are committed to protecting their work and our intellectual property.”
The use of AI software is fast becoming a major talking point in Hollywood, where the issue was a major stumbling block during the US writers strikes two years ago. Studios are now, however, looking to use the tech to cut production costs while also protecting their own IP.
Some companies such as Lionsgate have struck deals with AI firm Runway, while CuriosityStream has allowed AI companies to license the factual streamer’s content. Earlier this year, the factual streamer said it had seen “exceptional demand for its video, audio, image, and data assets to train next-gen AI models.”
No comments yet