The Walt Disney logo is displayed on screen during the Walt Disney Studios presentation at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 3, 2025.
Disney and Universal joined forces in a lawsuit against artificial intelligence image creator Midjourney, alleging copyright infringement.
It is the first AI copyright lawsuit from Hollywood giants.
The lawsuit claims that the company used and distributed AI-generated characters from the movie studios like Star Wars, The Simpsons and other films and alleges that Midjourney disregarded requests to stop.
The studios included numerous examples in the suit of AI-generated images of characters from Cars, Toy Story, Shrek, The Avengers and the minions from Despicable Me.
Disney and Universal are demanding a jury trial, arguing that the actions threaten to "upend the bedrock incentives of U.S. copyright law."
"Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism," the movie studios said, calling the actions "calculated and willful."
Both companies said they sent letters to Midjourney's counsel to prevent further copyright infringement, but the company continued to release new iterations of its image generator.
"Midjourney, which has attracted millions of subscribers and made $300 million last year alone, is focused on its own bottom line and ignored Plaintiffs' demands," the suit says.
CNBC has reached out to Midjourney for comment on the case.
The rise of AI has raised the stakes in the media industry, and sparked concerns over how to protect content from illegal copyrighting. This is one of the most significant copyright legal battles to date involving AI.