Warner Bros sues Midjourney for ‘stealing’ Batman, Bugs Bunny to generate AI images

Warner Bros Discovery on Thursday (September 4) sued the artificial intelligence photo generation company Midjourney in a Los Angeles federal court, accusing it of openly stealing the studio’s works to generate images of Superman, Scooby Doo, Bugs Bunny, Batman, Wonder Woman, and other characters copyrighted by the studio.

In its complaint, Warner Bros said the theft helped Midjourney to train its image and video service to offer its subscribers “high-quality, downloadable images of its characters in every imaginable scene”.

‘Calculated, profit-driven decision’

Warner Bros said Midjourney knew that it was doing the wrong thing because it once blocked subscribers from generating videos from several copyrighted images. But it lifted the protection measure last month calling the change an improvement”, said Warner Bros.

“Midjourney has made a calculated and profit-driven decision to offer zero protection for copyright owners even though it knows about the breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement,” read the Warner Bros complaint.

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The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and “disgorgement of profits” (the legal process where individuals or entities are required to return profits obtained through illegal or unethical actions), and a halt to further infringements.

Not the first lawsuit against Midjourney

This is not the first lawsuit against Midjourney for copyright infringement.

There was a similar lawsuit against it in June by Walt Disney and Comcast’s Universal over copyright infringement of characters including Bart Simpson, Shrek and Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and Darth Vader.

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In a filing in the Disney and Universal case on August 6, Midjourney said “copyright law does not confer absolute control over the use of copyrighted works”. The company also said using those works to train generative AI models amounted to fair use, and “helps to ensure the free flow of ideas and information”.

AI companies being sued

Artificial intelligence companies, big and small, have been accused by copyright owners including record labels, authors, and the news media of using their material without permission.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros Discovery 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. We filed this suit to protect our content, our partners, and our investment.”

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$300 million revenue

According to the Warner Bros complaint, Midjourney had nearly 21 million users as of September 2024 and an estimated $300 million in revenues in 2024.

The San Francisco company was launched in 2022 and is headed by the founder David Holz.