Disney and Universal say these images show how the AI tool Midjourney steals their famous characters

Hollywood is taking aim at the AI image generator Midjourney.

On Wednesday, Disney and NBCUniversal’s movie studios sued Midjourney, alleging its product ripped off their famous characters in properties ranging from Star Wars to The Simpsons.

The media companies use colorful language in their 110-page copyright infringement lawsuit. They argue that Midjourney’s tech amounts to a “virtual vending machine, generating endless unauthorized copies of Disney’s and Universal’s copyrighted works.”

They call Midjourney “the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism.”

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

Many news media companies, including Business Insider’s parent Axel Springer, have struck deals with AI companies to help train their models. The film and TV industry, however, has been slower to follow because of worries that the nascent tech will be used to replace their IP and talent. AI has also been a battleground between Hollywood companies and the industry’s labor unions.

Despite this, investors have poured money into AI companies that are aimed at Hollywood. These startups see the opportunity to use the tech to cut time and costs for making filmed entertainment.

This new lawsuit could throw a wrench in some of those plans. Of particular note, Disney and Universal included examples of images created by Midjourney’s tools in their suit, side by side with the original source material, to show how close Midjourney’s versions are to their characters.

Below are some examples they share in the lawsuit. What do you think?

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