Warner Bros. Sues Midjourney

Warner Bros. Discovery has initiated legal action against AI startup Midjourney, alleging copyright infringement. The media conglomerate claims Midjourney's AI image generator produces unauthorised copies of its copyrighted characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Scooby-Doo. Warner Bros. Discovery accuses Midjourney of training its AI models using illegally obtained copyrighted works.

The lawsuit highlights instances where Midjourney's generated images closely resemble Warner Bros.' original characters, even down to specific details. Warner Bros. seeks to protect its content, creative partners, and investments. This legal move follows a similar lawsuit filed by Disney and Universal against Midjourney.

Warner Bros. Discovery is seeking $150,000 per infringed work and access to Midjourney's training data. The company alleges Midjourney knowingly infringed on copyrights, even briefly restricting users from animating scenes with copyrighted characters. Warner Bros. Discovery's lawsuit includes subsidiaries such as DC Comics, The Cartoon Network, and Hanna-Barbera Productions.