By Connor Hart

Disney and Universal sued Midjourney, alleging that the artificial-intelligence company's image-generating service produces unauthorized copies of the studios' copyrighted works.

The studios described Midjourney's infringement as calculated and willful, according to the complaint, which said that they previously have asked the company to cease violating their intellectual property rights and adopt measures to prevent further infringement.

"Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism," the complaint said.

Midjourney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, includes examples of images generated by Midjourney that depict copyrighted characters, such as Darth Vader from Disney's "Star Wars" franchise and the Minions from Universal's "Despicable Me" series.

Disney has long closely guarded its intellectual property, which spans from iconic princesses and ornate castles to beloved cartoon creatures and fantastical lands. Thanks to acquisitions, its portfolio also includes Marvel superheroes and The Simpsons.

Beyond the Minions, Universal, a subsidiary of Comcast's NBCUniversal, also holds a broad catalog of IP including DreamWorks characters like Shrek and Toothless, and enduring figures from classic films such as "Jaws," "Jurassic Park" and "Frankenstein."

Blogs and online chat forums are full of tips on how to prompt Midjourney to deliver images based on or featuring characters that appear to be based on Disney IP.

Kim Harris, general counsel for NBCUniversal, said the companies filed the suit "to protect the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us and the significant investment we make in our content."

The studios are seeking monetary damages, a jury trial and an order barring Midjourney from further copyright infringement.

"We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity," said Horacio Gutierrez, Disney's chief legal and compliance officer. "But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it's done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing."

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-11-25 1133ET