Warner Bros Discovery sues Midjourney; lawsuit says: Midjourney thinks it is above the law

Warner Bros (WB) Discovery has filed a lawsuit against the AI image generator startup Midjourney. The Hollywood studio has alleged the AI startup of "mass theft of content" and using its intellectual property. According to the complaint filed in California federal court, WB accused Midjourney of building itself on the mass theft of copyrighted movies and TV shows to train its AI systems. The lawsuit claims that Midjourney allows its millions of subscribers to create and download images and videos of characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Bugs Bunny that are WB’s intellectual property. The lawsuit claims that Midjourney's actions demonstrate it is aware of its wrongful conduct. WB alleged that the company earlier blocked subscribers from generating videos from infringing images, but then "brazenly" lifted the protection, promoting the change as an "improvement."

What Warner Bros Discovery said about Midjourney infringing its intellectual property

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said: “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.”In its lawsuit, WB highlights Midjourney’s ability to generate images of well-known copyrighted characters. Central to the claims are heroes featured in DC Studios’ films and series, including Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker. The filing also mentions Looney Tunes figures, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, and Cartoon Network characters, such as those from Rick and Morty, which are described as cultural touchstones in recent years.

Midjourney, which offers paid subscriptions between $10 and $120 per month and did not respond to a request for comment, allegedly produces WB-owned characters even from prompts like “classic comic book superhero battle,” which do not directly reference specific properties.As evidence, the studio submitted dozens of side-by-side comparisons of Midjourney outputs and stills from its movies and shows. For example, a prompt for “Batman, screencap from The Dark Knight” produced an image of Christian Bale’s Batman in the Kevlar-plated suit design unique to that film, appearing nearly identical to footage or promotional materials. Another example cited is a 3D-animated Bugs Bunny resembling his appearance in Space Jam: A New Legacy.The complaint argues that Midjourney’s ability to reproduce copyrighted characters is a “clear draw for subscribers,” diverting consumers from buying licensed Warner Bros. Discovery products such as posters, wall art, and prints.Like other AI companies, Midjourney’s training data remains opaque, creating challenges for rightsholders pursuing infringement claims. In 2022, the company’s founder, David Holz, stated in an interview that his team “grab everything they can, they dump it in a huge file, and they kind of set it on fire to train some huge thing.” Details of the process will be examined during discovery.WB is seeking either Midjourney’s profits tied to the alleged infringement or statutory damages of $150,000 per infringed work—potentially exposing the company to significant liability.The legal action joins a growing list of lawsuits against AI companies from authors, artists, and news organisations. WB is the latest major studio to take legal action, following similar suits filed by Disney and Universal against Midjourney in June. The studios argue that AI companies are "free-riders" who train their technology on copyrighted content without compensating creators.A central legal question is whether AI companies are protected by fair use, the doctrine that allows works to be used without a license under certain conditions. Earlier this year, a court found Amazon-backed Anthropic had a firm legal footing for training purposes. Judge William Alsup described the technology as “among the most transformative many of us will see in our lifetimes.”