Midjourney Says Disney Wants To “Have it Both Ways” in Landmark AI Lawsuit
Last June, Disney and Universal filed a historic lawsuit against Midjourney, an AI image generator with millions of users.
After years of skirting the looming battle over AI, Disney jumped to the front lines with a 110-page lawsuit arguing that Midjourney pilfered countless copyrighted works to train its software and allow users to create images that “blatantly incorporate and copy Disney’s and Universal’s famous characters.”
Walt Disney Company
“Midjourney is the quintessential copyright-free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,” Disney said in their lawsuit.
Midjourney Responds
Months after the landmark lawsuit was filed, Midjourney has responded to Disney and Universal in court.
The AI training, they argued, constitutes “fair use.”
Frozen artwork generated by Midjourney A.I. Photo: New York Times.
“Copyright law does not confer absolute control over the use of copyrighted works.” They further elaborated that “the limited monopoly granted by copyright must give way to fair use, which safeguards countervailing public interests in the free flow of ideas and information.”
Disney Wants to “Have It Both Ways”
Additionally, the Midjourney lawyers argued that Disney and Universal are trying to “have it both ways” by using AI tools themselves while suing the company. After all, Bob Iger has previously called AI “technology an invaluable tool for artists.”
Photo: Disney
“Plaintiffs cannot have it both ways, seeking to profit — through their use of Midjourney and other generative AI tools — from industry-standard AI training practices on the one hand, while on the other hand accusing Midjourney of wrongdoing for the same,” the filing argues.
No matter where you come down on the issue of AI, there is no doubt that the Disney-Midjourney lawsuit will have massive implications for the entertainment industry.
Photo: Disney
So, be sure to check back with MickeyBlog. We will continue to follow the lawsuit and bring you any updates.
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