⚖️ Disney and Universal File Lawsuit Against AI Company Midjourney 🎬🤖

📰 According to ShibDaily, entertainment giants Disney and Universal have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI company Midjourney in Los Angeles.

📸 The companies allege that Midjourney used their copyrighted characters to train its image-generation software, and is now allowing users to generate visuals featuring those protected characters without permission. 😠

🎭 The lawsuit describes Midjourney as a “virtual vending machine” that churns out unauthorized images of iconic characters from franchises like Star Wars 🌌, The Lion King 🦁, The Simpsons 👨‍👩‍👧, Marvel 🦸‍♂️, Boss Baby 👶, and Shrek 🧅.

💰 Disney argues that Midjourney is profiting from their intellectual property without making any original investment in those creations, simply copying and distributing visual likenesses of famous characters.

🔁 The platform allows users to instruct the AI to create content based on copyrighted material, which they can download and use freely.

🛑 Disney and Universal claim this misuse of copyrighted works threatens the core purpose of U.S. copyright law, which is to protect and incentivize original creativity. 🇺🇸🎨

🤝 Before filing the lawsuit, both companies reportedly tried to resolve the issue privately, asking Midjourney to stop using their IP and implement safeguards like other responsible AI companies.

🚫 However, Midjourney allegedly ignored the requests and continued releasing newer versions of its Image Service, even planning a commercial AI video generation platform. 🎥🧠

🏛️ Now, Disney and Universal seek a preliminary injunction from the court to prevent Midjourney from operating unless it installs strict safeguards to block copyright misuse.

⚔️ This lawsuit highlights the growing tension between traditional media companies and emerging AI technologies, as both sides grapple with the future of intellectual property in the digital age. 💥📚