Warner Bros. Discovery sues AI platform Midjourney

It is now the third US studio to sue Midjourney, following lawsuits filed in June 2025 by Walt Disney and Comcast’s Universal.  

Midjourney, based in San Francisco, offers a subscription service that lets customers create images and clips using artificial intelligence (AI). 

WBD said that Midjourney stole the studio's works to generate images of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and other copyrighted characters. 

In the complaint, Warner Bros. alleges that Midjourney willfully creates still images and videos of its characters. 

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." 

"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," said the complaint, which was filed in Los Angeles federal court. 

Of the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Warner Bros. Discovery against Midjourney, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which represents US studios and streamers, said: “The Motion Picture Association strongly supports copyright protection and our member company efforts to enforce intellectual property rights. We remain concerned that copyright infringement, left unchecked, threatens the entire American motion picture industry, which supports over two million jobs in all 50 states and drives countless economic, social, and cultural benefits.” 

The BBC recently threatened legal action against AI firm Perplexity, arguing that it is reproducing BBC content "verbatim" without its permission. Discover more here.