Disney and Universal have taken legal action against Midjourney, an artificial intelligence (AI) image generation company, for allegedly using copyrighted characters without permission.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles on June 11, claimed that Midjourney trained its system using images from films and franchises owned by the two studios.
According to the complaint, Midjourney allows users to pay for access to its image tool, which can then be used to create and download new images. The studios argued that many of these images closely resemble characters from their movies, such as those from Star Wars, The Lion King, Marvel, The Simpsons, Shrek, and Boss Baby.
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Disney and Universal explained that the AI company built its image generator by copying large amounts of their content and is offering results that rely on those same materials. They also accused Midjourney of using copyrighted characters to advertise its service and attract new users.
Before going to court, Disney stated that it had attempted to resolve the issue by asking Midjourney to add tools that would prevent users from generating protected characters.
However, the company reportedly ignored the request and instead continued to develop and promote newer versions of its service, including a video-generation tool that has yet to be released.
The lawsuit pointed out that Midjourney already has systems in place to prevent users from creating violent or adult content. Disney argued that similar filters could easily be added to block copyrighted material.
Recently, Elton John, a multi-Grammy-winning music legend, criticized the UK’s AI copyright plan. What did he say? Read the full story.
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