Entertainment giants Disney and Universal have come out swinging against AI company Midjourney for infringing on dozens of beloved characters

In the complaint, attorneys for Disney and Universal wrote that “Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism.” They accused the company of “helping itself to Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works” and then distributing images that blatantly incorporate famous characters, including Darth Vader and Bart Simpson.

"Piracy is piracy," says Disney's chief legal officer, as the studios aim to show that tools allowing personalized AI slop creations of characters like Darth Vader or Shrek run afoul of their IP.