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Major Copyright Lawsuit Targets AI Image Generation
Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a significant copyright infringement lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney, alleging the platform enables users to create unauthorized images of the studio's iconic characters including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, and Scooby-Doo.
Copyright Violation Claims
The entertainment giant demonstrates in court documents that Midjourney users can easily generate high-quality downloadable images of Warner Bros.' copyrighted characters with simple text prompts. "When a user gives Midjourney a simple command for a picture of Superman in a specific scenario or action, Midjourney generates a downloadable high-quality image of the Superman character that Warner Bros. holds copyright to," the complaint states.
Warner Bros. emphasizes that these characters represent "some of the most popular and valuable fictional characters ever conceived" and that under copyright law, only Warner Bros. Discovery has the right to reproduce them.
Financial Damages Sought
The lawsuit includes numerous examples of allegedly infringing content, ranging from Superman and The Flash to Tweety Bird and Rick and Morty characters. Warner Bros. is seeking up to $150,000 in statutory damages per infringement, which could amount to substantial financial penalties given the scale of alleged violations.
According to legal experts, this case represents a critical test of how copyright law applies to AI-generated content and whether AI companies can be held liable for copyright infringement committed by their users.
Industry Context and Precedents
This lawsuit follows similar actions taken by Disney and Universal against Midjourney in June 2025. The AI company previously argued that its technology is trained only on publicly available images and that users bear responsibility for not infringing copyrights.
The timing coincides with a landmark $1.5 billion settlement between AI company Anthropic and a group of authors, where Anthropic admitted to using illegally downloaded books to train its AI without paying royalties. This settlement is viewed as a potential turning point in copyright disputes between AI companies and content creators.
Source: NOS News
