Warner Bros. sued the Mid Journey on Thursday, becoming the third studio to denounce AI’s image generation platform for blatant copyright violations.
In the complaint, Warner Bros. claims that Midi Johnny intentionally creates both still images and videos of characters such as Superman, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Duffy Duck, and Tom and Jerry. The complaint also alleges that Midjourney has recently eliminated Guardrails, which block users from creating videos that compromise IP.
“The Mid Journey believes it exceeds the law,” the lawsuit states. “Unless consent or approval by Warner Bros Discovery, Midi Johnny will bravely distribute Warner Bros intellectual property as if it were unique.”
Warner Bros. is represented by the same lawyer who sued Midi Joanie on behalf of Disney and Universal in June, and the new complaints follow the same template.
In both cases, Studios claims that Midjourney users are creating the output of the compromise. This is images and videos that resemble copyrighted characters. In both cases, Midjourney argues that it can continue to provide services with protective protections to prevent such duplications.
“However, Midjourney has made a calculated, profit-driven decision to provide zero protection to copyright holders despite knowing the breathtaking scope of its copyright and copyright infringement,” the WB lawsuit states.
For Disney Universal, Midjourney argues that AI training on copyrighted work is protected by “fair use.” The company also argued that users are bound by the Platform’s terms of service and prohibit breaching other people’s intellectual property rights.
Midjourney’s lawyers accused Studios of hypocrisy and said they are trying to crack down on the use of “industry standard” AI practices while trying to benefit from AI.
Warner Bros. was approached earlier this year to join the Disney Universal Suit, but at that time it was not a choice.
Midjourney has since announced its video service and a 24/7 streaming channel on its own website and YouTube. Midjourney’s debate about adding “channels” to live streams suggests “intention to expand into traditional television or streaming markets,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that users can easily urge the service to generate infringing images and videos of Joker, Flash, Scooby-Doo and many other copyrighted characters.
The lawsuit seeks statutory damages and an injunction that would prevent Midjourney from infringing WB’s copyright.
The Motion Picture Association, which claims that AI can coexist with strong copyright protection, said on Friday in a statement that it strongly supports the efforts of its member companies to protect its IP.
“We are concerned that copyright infringement will remain unconfirmed and will threaten the entire American film industry, supporting more than 2 million jobs in all 50 states and promoting countless economic, social and cultural interests,” the MPA said.
