Overview
Midjourney is an AI image-generation startup whose models can produce stylized recreations of copyrighted characters. It is defending against copyright lawsuits from major Hollywood studios while arguing fair use and seeking reciprocal discovery of studios’ own AI practices.
Recent Developments
- 2026-07: Filed motion to compel Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to disclose internal AI business plans, training datasets, model weights, and board presentations — overturning Magistrate Judge Richlin’s June 15 limitation to consumer-facing AI only (2026-07-06-midjourney-hollywood-variety)
- 2026-06-15: Magistrate limited discovery scope; hearing on Midjourney appeal scheduled August 17, 2026
- 2025-06: Disney and Universal filed suit (Case 2:25-cv-05275); Warner Bros. joined later; cases consolidated
Legal Strategy
Midjourney invokes unclean hands and fair use: if studios train internal image-AI on unlicensed content for storyboarding, that undermines infringement claims. Studios characterize the discovery request as a fishing expedition (2026-07-06-midjourney-hollywood-techcrunch).