Disney and Universal Sue Midjourney Over AI Use of Iconic Characters

Hollywood’s copyright wars just escalated. Disney and Universal have filed a major lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney, accusing the company of “rampant copyright infringement” and labeling it a “bottomless pit of plagiarism.” The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, alleges that Midjourney has been generating unauthorized visuals of some of the studios' most valuable intellectual property—from Darth Vader and Yoda to Elsa, Shrek, and the Minions.

The studios argue that Midjourney scraped and trained its AI on their copyrighted content without permission, and has continued to release versions of its platform capable of reproducing high-quality images of their characters. Disney’s legal chief called it outright piracy, while Universal says it’s standing up for the artists and investments that power its iconic films.

The suit seeks an injunction to stop Midjourney from generating or distributing any infringing content and demands damages. It comes as generative AI faces mounting legal scrutiny across industries, with similar cases filed by artists, authors, and musicians. With Midjourney reportedly generating $300 million last year from paid subscriptions, the stakes—and the tension—are high.