Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit against Midjourney, the artificial intelligence company known for turning text prompts into images and videos. The studio accuses Midjourney of “brazenly dispensing” its intellectual property, according to a complaint filed in a California federal court this week.
The lawsuit says Midjourney’s platform allows subscribers to create images of characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and even figures from Rick and Morty. Warner Bros.’ argument is that this practice amounts to mass theft of creative work that belongs to the studio and its partners.
Cartoon Network characters, which fall under Warner Bros. Discovery’s portfolio, are also part of the case. The complaint says figures from shows like Rick and Morty have become cultural touchstones and are now being reproduced by Midjourney without permission.
Midjourney, which has subscription tiers priced between $10 and $120 per month, has not commented on the complaint. The company has millions of registered users and is considered one of the most popular AI image generators worldwide.
What Examples Are Being Used In The Case?
The complaint includes direct comparisons between Midjourney’s outputs and original Warner Bros. content. One example shows an AI-generated Bugs Bunny that looks almost identical to the version from the film Space Jam: A New Legacy. Another comparison was a Batman image that strongly resembles Christian Bale’s version of the character in The Dark Knight, complete with the Kevlar plate design of the costume.
The lawsuit also mentions that even vague prompts like “classic comic book superhero battle” can result in images featuring Warner Bros. characters. In Warner Bros.’ view, this demonstrates that the system has been trained on copyrighted material without permission.
According to Warner Bros., Midjourney originally blocked certain requests when it launched its video model, but in recent weeks, those restrictions were reportedly lifted. The company says Midjourney told users they would face “fewer blocked jobs,” meaning they could now generate Warner Bros. content with less interference.
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How Much Money Is On The Line Here?
Warner Bros. Discovery is asking for Midjourney’s profits from the alleged infringement or statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, this could lead to damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on how many works are covered.
Disney and NBCUniversal, who sued Midjourney earlier this year, backed Warner Bros.’ action. Disney said it was “pleased to be joined by Warner Bros. Discovery in the fight against Midjourney’s blatant copyright infringement.” NBCUniversal added that protecting creative artists and their intellectual property is central to their business.
Warner Bros. says that Midjourney’s ability to produce these images diverts customers away from buying licensed posters, wall art, and other products. The studio’s lawsuit claims that this is not only harmful to its own revenue but also damages the artists and partners who built the characters.
What Does This Mean For AI Companies And Copyright?
The lawsuit comes as courts continue to look at how copyright law applies to AI. Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote that AI technology is “among the most transformative many of us will see in our lifetimes,” in a case involving Amazon-backed Anthropic. That case ended in settlement, but it gave creators some leverage in future disputes.
AI companies often describe their training process as a “black box,” making it difficult to confirm exactly how much copyrighted material is being used. In a 2022 interview, Midjourney founder David Holz admitted that the company gathers large amounts of content to train its models, describing the process as “grab everything they can” and “set it on fire to train some huge thing.” Warner Bros. and its partners plan to use such statements in discovery to strengthen their case.
Paramount, Amazon MGM, Apple Studios, Sony Pictures and Lionsgate have not joined the lawsuits, although some of them are known to be experimenting with AI projects of their own.
