Entertainment giants Disney and Universal have filed a federal lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Midjourney, accusing it of unlawfully replicating their iconic characters using AI technology.
The case, lodged in a Los Angeles federal court, claims that Midjourney’s AI image generator produces unauthorized likenesses of well-known characters, including Darth Vader from Star Wars, Elsa from Frozen, and the Minions from Universal’s Despicable Me franchise.
Disney’s Chief Legal Officer, Horacio Gutierrez, condemned the practice as “a bottomless pit of plagiarism,” adding: “Piracy is piracy, whether done by humans or AI. We support responsible AI use, but not theft of our creations.”
Court filings reveal that Midjourney, based in San Francisco with fewer than a dozen full-time staff, generated an estimate $300 million in revenue last year—much of it allegedly tied to the reproduction of copyrighted characters. The company is also reportedly planning to launch a video-generation platform.
Legal scholars say the lawsuit could become a landmark case in the ongoing debate over AI and copyright law. Professor Shubha Ghosh, a copyright expert, noted that Midjourney’s outputs “appear to copy protected characters without significant creative transformation,” raising serious legal concerns.
Midjourney, which describes itself as an “independent research lab,” has not publicly responded to the allegations.
The case underscores Hollywood’s increasingly fraught relationship with artificial intelligence. While studios have embraced the technology for certain tasks—such as digitally de-aging actors in Oscar-nominated films—they remain wary of its potential to undermine their intellectual property.
This lawsuit follows recent industry strikes by writers and actors, many of whom voiced fears over AI’s growing role in entertainment production. As AI tools become more advanced and widespread, the outcome of this legal battle may play a crucial role in defining the future boundaries of creativity, ownership, and technology in Hollywood.
