By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -Warner Bros Discovery sued the AI photo generation company Midjourney on Thursday, saying it brazenly stole the studio's works to generate images of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and other copyrighted characters.
In a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, Warner Bros said the theft enabled Midjourney to train its image and video service to offer subscribers high quality, downloadable images of its characters in "every imaginable scene."
Warner Bros also said Midjourney knew its conduct was wrongful because it once blocked subscribers from generating videos from many infringing images, only to lift that protection measure last month while touting the change as an "improvement."
"Midjourney has made a calculated and profit-driven decision to offer zero protection for copyright owners even though Midjourney knows about the breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement," the complaint said.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and disgorgement of profits, and a halt to further infringements.
It follows a similar lawsuit filed in June against Midjourney by Walt Disney and Comcast's Universal over characters including Darth Vader, Bart Simpson, Shrek and Ariel from "The Little Mermaid."
Launched in 2022 and led by founder David Holz, San Francisco-based Midjourney had nearly 21 million users as of September 2024 and an estimated $300 million of revenue in 2024, according to Warner Bros' complaint.
Midjourney and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In an August 6 filing in the Disney and Universal case, Midjourney said copyright law "does not confer absolute control" over the use of copyrighted works.
It also said using those works to train generative AI models amounted to fair use, helping ensure the free flow of ideas and information.
Many authors, news media, record labels and other copyright owners have accused AI companies, large and fledgling, in lawsuits of using their materials without permission.
"The heart of what we do is develop stories and characters to entertain our audiences, bringing to life the vision and passion of our creative partners," a spokesperson for Warner Bros Discovery said. "We filed this suit to protect our content, our partners and our investments."
Warner Bros Discovery's operations include Warner Bros Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera and The Cartoon Network.
The case is Warner Bros Entertainment Inc et al v Midjourney Inc, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 25-08376.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
