Disney and Universal sued Midjourney Wednesday for generating images of Shrek, Darth Vader, Buzz Lightyear, and other copyrighted characters. This is the first major Hollywood legal fight against generative AI.
The complaint, filed in central California, calls Midjourney’s AI a “virtual vending machine, generating endless unauthorized copies” of Disney’s and Universal’s work.
Disney and Universal accuse Midjourney of copying and distributing images—and soon videos—featuring their famous characters without paying or permission. 
The lawsuit includes examples like Yoda, WALL-E, Deadpool, Iron Man, Lightning McQueen, Aladdin, Spider-Man, Groot, Elsa from Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Wars characters such as Stormtroopers and C-3PO.
They say Midjourney uses these characters to market its tools. The studios also claim Midjourney ignored repeated demands to stop, while rival AI services have added copyright protections.
Midjourney did not respond to requests for comment.
Hollywood’s key concern: Midjourney’s upcoming video generator. The studios believe it will create and distribute videos with their copyrighted characters.
They warned Midjourney is likely already infringing copyrights with this new tool.
Disney and Universal want a jury trial.
Disney and Universal stated
“By helping itself to Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works, and then distributing images (and soon videos) that blatantly incorporate and copy Disney’s and Universal’s famous characters—without investing a penny in their creation—Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism.”
“This case is not a ‘close call’ under well-settled copyright law. That is textbook copyright infringement.”
This lawsuit joins a growing wave of legal actions against AI firms. OpenAI faces multiple suits, including one from The New York Times and authors like George R.R. Martin. Anthropic is also sued by authors, Universal Music, and Reddit. The clash between Hollywood and AI is heating up fast.
