Hollywood vs Midjourney: AI at the Center of a Legal Battle

Hollywood and AI: A Confrontation Over Copyright

For several months, the film industry has been in turmoil over the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Giants like Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. have filed lawsuits against Midjourney, a company specializing in AI. These studios accuse Midjourney of using copyrighted works to train its AI model, which they claim constitutes a violation of their rights.

However, Midjourney is not backing down and emphasizes that while it must answer for its actions, Hollywood studios should also be transparent about their own AI practices. The company believes that these major corporations might also be using methods similar to those they criticize.

Midjourney Strikes Back

Last week, Midjourney's lawyers filed a motion in court. This move follows a court ruling made in June that had restricted Midjourney's access to detailed information regarding the studios' AI activities. With this new motion, Midjourney hopes to broaden access to relevant documents in the ongoing legal proceedings.

The Information Sought by Midjourney

Midjourney seeks specific documents from the studios, particularly regarding their training datasets, their business strategies around AI, and the presentations made to their boards of directors about this technology. According to Bobby Ghajar, one of Midjourney's lawyers, if the studios are using methods similar to those they accuse Midjourney of, it would weaken their legal position.

Ghajar argues that this would also bolster Midjourney's defense regarding fair use and could reveal an abuse of process on the part of the studios. He points out that while the studios have agreed to provide certain documents intended for consumers, these do not mention the internal use of AI tools.

The Studios' Position

Representatives from Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. refute this interpretation. David Singer, the attorney for the three companies, asserts that their goal is clear: to prevent Midjourney from reproducing their films, series, and characters without permission. According to him, this stance is one that any copyright holder would adopt in the face of infringement, whether it involves AI or not.