Disney and Universal sued Midjourney last year for alleged copyright infringement, claiming its image-generation models could create images of characters like Bart Simpson and Darth Vader. Warner Bros. later filed its own suit. Midjourney has argued that training its models on copyrighted characters is permitted under fair use.
The current dispute centers on the discovery process. A judge previously ruled that the studios must provide information about their generative AI usage, but only when it led to "consumer-facing" videos and images. In its latest filing, Midjourney is seeking to overturn that limitation, arguing it "unfairly" allows the studios to "cherry-pick" documents that support their market harm claims while withholding documents that could support Midjourney's defenses.
Midjourney claims the withheld documents could reveal whether the studios are themselves doing what they are accusing Midjourney of doing, such as developing image-generating AI models for internal use in storyboarding or ideating content. The startup is also pushing for the studios to disclose all the prompts they used in Midjourney and the resulting outputs, not just the prompts that produced the allegedly infringing images.
The studios' lead attorney, David Singer, characterized the request as a "fishing expedition" and said the studios "do not seek to stop AI technology or even shut down Midjourney's business," but rather want Midjourney to stop copying their movies and TV shows and using their characters without authorization.