Midjourney is asking a federal court to make Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. disclose more information about their own use of generative AI. The request is part of an ongoing copyright lawsuit in which the studios accuse the AI image startup of using and generating protected characters without permission.
Disney and Universal sued Midjourney last year, alleging that its models could create images of characters such as Darth Vader, Bart Simpson and other protected studio properties. Warner Bros. Discovery later filed a similar lawsuit, accusing Midjourney of generating images and videos featuring characters including Superman, Bugs Bunny and Scooby-Doo.
Midjourney argues that training AI models on copyrighted images can be protected under fair use. The current dispute focuses on what documents the studios must provide during discovery.
Startup Challenges Limits on Discovery
A magistrate judge previously ruled that the studios must provide information about their generative AI use only when it resulted in consumer-facing images or videos. Midjourney is now asking the court to overturn that limitation.
In its latest filing, the startup argues that the restriction allows the studios to choose only documents that support their claims of market harm. Midjourney says broader disclosure could support its fair use defence if the studios themselves use AI systems to train on or generate content from copyrighted material.
The company said internal AI use for storyboarding, concept development or film and television ideation could show that similar practices are becoming common within the entertainment industry. It also wants documents covering AI business plans, research reports, training datasets, model weights and internal presentations.
Midjourney is also asking the studios to provide all prompts they used on its service and the resulting outputs. The studios have previously limited production to prompts connected to images cited in their complaint.
Studios Say Request Is Too Broad
The studios’ lead attorney, David Singer, previously described Midjourney’s request as a fishing expedition. He said the plaintiffs are not trying to stop AI technology or shut down Midjourney’s business.
Singer said the studios want Midjourney to stop copying their films and television shows, and to stop distributing or creating derivative works involving their famous characters without authorization. The studios argue that Midjourney’s products can reproduce protected characters in ways that compete with or dilute their intellectual property.
The dispute has become one of the most closely watched copyright cases involving Hollywood and generative AI. Its discovery phase could shape how much companies suing AI developers must reveal about their own use of the same technology.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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