Disney said it filed the complaint after its request to Midjourney to adopt anti-copyright infringement measures was ignored.

Disney and Universal have sued artificial intelligence firm Midjourney for copyright infringement over its AI-powered image generator.

In a legal complaint filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the entertainment giants accused Midjourney of using works related to copyrighted characters to train its large language model (LLM) and distributing images of the copyrighted characters.

There are already several court cases against AI firms filed by authors and artists for alleged copyright infringement; however, this is the first time that major movie studios have waded into the AI legal saga. 

Star Wars, Marvel, The Simpsons characters copied 

Among the works that have allegedly been copied without permission are characters from Disney’s Star Wars, Marvel, The Lion King and The Simpsons, along with Universal’s Boss Baby and Shrek franchises. The complaint states that users can subscribe to Midjourney’s image service and prompt it to create images of the copyrighted work, which can be downloaded and used.Disney said that by using the copyrighted works and then distributing images that “blatantly incorporate and copy” famous characters without “investing a penny in their creation,” Midjourney is a “copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism.” 

The suit also claims Midjourney copies and uses the copyrighted characters to market and promote its image service.