Legal / Copyright Market: Midjourney seeks to force Hollywood studios to disclose AI usage

In an ongoing copyright lawsuit, Midjourney is attempting to compel Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to reveal their own use of generative AI. The AI startup, sued by the studios for allegedly training its models on copyrighted characters, argues that its practices fall under the US fair use doctrine. A judge has already ordered the studios to disclose AI usage in consumer-facing videos and images, but Midjourney is pushing to remove this limitation, demanding all internal AI use, prompts, and outputs. The company claims that if the studios are using similar AI training internally, it would prove an industry-wide practice. David Singer, the studios' lead lawyer, insists they do not aim to halt AI technology but want Midjourney to stop copying their films and distributing derivative works.