Highlights
- Midjourney is asking the court to require Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. to disclose more details about their AI use.
- The AI company argues internal records could support its defence in the ongoing copyright case.
- The studios say the lawsuit is about protecting copyrighted characters, not preventing the development of AI.
Midjourney has argued that the Hollywood studios suing it over copyright infringement may be using artificial intelligence in ways similar to those at the centre of the legal dispute, as it seeks broader access to their internal AI records.
In a new court filing, the AI image-generation company asked for Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. to produce more documents during the discovery process, saying the material could strengthen its defence.
Midjourney says key AI records are being withheld
The dispute centres on what evidence the studios must hand over as the lawsuit moves forward.
A judge previously ruled that the companies would have to disclose information about their use of generative AI, but only where it related to consumer-facing images and videos.
Midjourney is now asking the court to remove that restriction, arguing it unfairly allows the studios to provide only documents that support their claims while withholding evidence that could benefit the company's defence.
In its filing, Midjourney said the withheld documents could reveal whether the studios are "doing exactly what they are suing Midjourney for doing" behind closed doors.
The argument over internal AI development
According to Midjourney, if the studios are developing AI image-generation tools for internal purposes, such as storyboarding or generating ideas for film and television projects, that could demonstrate such practices are common within the industry.
The company is also seeking access to every prompt the studios entered into Midjourney's platform, together with all the images those prompts generated, rather than only the examples cited in the lawsuit.
Midjourney continues to maintain that training its AI models on copyrighted material is protected under the legal doctrine of fair use.
How the legal battle began
Disney and Universal sued Midjourney last year, alleging the company's AI models could generate images of copyrighted characters, including Bart Simpson and Darth Vader, without permission. Warner Bros. later filed a similar lawsuit.
The studios' lead lawyer, David Singer, has previously described Midjourney's request for additional documents as a "fishing expedition". He said the studios are not trying to halt AI technology or force Midjourney out of business, but want the company to stop reproducing and distributing their copyrighted characters without authorisation.
