Warner Bros. Discovery Sues AI Image Generator Over Copyright Infringement

Warner Bros. Discovery is taking legal action against the artificial intelligence image generator Midjourney for copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims that Midjourney has used the company’s movies and TV shows without permission to train its AI system.

The complaint, filed Thursday in California federal court, says Midjourney “brazenly dispenses Warner Bros. Discovery’s intellectual property” by letting users create images and videos featuring the studio’s famous characters.

These include DC heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker, as well as Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, and Cartoon Network characters such as Rick and Morty.

“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,” a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said. “Midjourney is blatantly and purposefully infringing copyrighted works, and we filed this suit to protect our content, our partners, and our investments.”

Midjourney has millions of users and offers subscriptions ranging from $10 to $120 per month.

According to the lawsuit, the service can generate images of Warner Bros. Discovery characters even when users do not explicitly name them.

The complaint includes examples where the AI produced images closely resembling copyrighted material, including a detailed version of Christian Bale’s Batman from The Dark Knight and a 3D-animated Bugs Bunny inspired by Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The lawsuit argues that these AI-generated images draw users away from buying licensed posters, prints, and other official products, hurting Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue.

The studio is seeking either profits tied to the alleged infringement or $150,000 for each copyrighted work involved, which could lead to massive damages.

This lawsuit is part of a growing wave of legal battles over AI tools using copyrighted content. Disney and Universal previously filed a joint lawsuit against Midjourney for similar reasons.

Disney said in a statement, “We’re committed to protecting our creators and innovators” and welcomed Warner Bros. Discovery to the case. NBCUniversal added, “Creative artists are the backbone of our industry, and we are committed to protecting their work and our intellectual property.”

AI companies have been training their systems on content scraped from the internet without compensating creators. Courts are now trying to decide how copyright law applies, including whether such use counts as fair use.

A recent case involving AI company Anthropic saw some training practices upheld, but that lawsuit eventually led to a settlement. The outcome of the Warner Bros. Discovery case could set a major precedent for the entire AI industry.

Midjourney has not commented publicly. The trial and discovery process may reveal exactly how the AI company obtained and used copyrighted movies and TV shows to power its image generator.

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