The legal battle between Midjourney and Hollywood studios has intensified
With the help of artificial intelligence technologies, a legal dispute between the popular Midjourney startup, which creates images, and Hollywood's largest film studios has escalated to a new stage, Zamin.uz reports.
At the same time, serious disagreements over intellectual property continue between the parties involved in the lawsuit. Midjourney is demanding that major companies such as Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros, which have filed lawsuits against it, disclose how they use artificial intelligence in their internal processes.
This is reported by influential publications. The dispute began last year after these studios sued Midjourney for allegedly violating copyright on its platform.
According to the plaintiffs, the neural network Bart Simpson or Darth Vader enables the unauthorized creation of famous characters belonging to the studios. Midjourney, for its part, continues to assert that training the system on existing images fully complies with fair use principles.
At the center of the current dispute is the question of what documents the parties must present during the litigation. Earlier, the judge ruled that studios must provide information only about artificial intelligence products offered to consumers, that is, those announced to the public.
However, Midjourney considers this restriction unfair and is seeking to have it overturned, demanding access to all internal data from the studios. According to Midjourney representatives, the studios are only providing documents favorable to themselves in an attempt to build a basis for lawsuits alleging damages they have caused to the market.
According to the startup, Hollywood studios may be training their models on unlicensed content behind closed doors—exactly the kind of work for which Midjourney is being blamed. If studios use internal AI tools for writing scripts for films or series, creating illustrations, or developing new ideas, this demonstrates that the use of unlicensed data is common practice in this field.
This could serve as a strong defense for Midjourney in court. Therefore, the startup is demanding that studios disclose all internal directives and their outcomes.
Hollywood's lead counsel, David Singer, dismisses Midjourney's demands as a baseless fishing expedition. In his view, Hollywood is not seeking to halt AI technology but rather to prevent the unauthorized copying and distribution of its famous characters and intellectual property.
This case is expected to become an important precedent that will define the relationship between creative industries and technology companies worldwide. In Uzbekistan, where digital art and artificial intelligence are rapidly developing, such global legal disputes could play a significant role in shaping new rules for copyright protection that are relevant to local content creators, developers, and legal professionals.
New orders in the industry are emerging precisely as a result of such major confrontations.
