Midjourney wants Hollywood studios to reveal the details of their AI usage
TechCrunch
β’Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:00:05 +0000
π° What Happened
AI image-generation startup Midjourney filed a legal motion to compel Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to reveal detailed information about their own internal use of generative AI. The studios sued Midjourney for copyright infringement, alleging its models can generate images of copyrighted characters like Bart Simpson and Darth Vader. Midjourney argues its use of copyrighted images for training is fair use. A judge had already ruled that studios must disclose AI usage that led to 'consumer-facing' content, but Midjourney is pushing to expand discovery to include internal AI use for storyboarding and ideation. Midjourney's argument is that if the studios themselves train AI on unlicensed copyrighted content for internal use, it proves such practices are industry custom.
π The Backstory
The legal battle over AI training data has been one of the defining intellectual property fights of the AI era. Major copyright holders β including visual artists, news publishers, musicians, and now Hollywood studios β have sued AI companies, arguing that training on copyrighted works without permission constitutes infringement. The studios' position is that Midjourney's models threaten their intellectual property by enabling users to generate unauthorized character images. Midjourney's counter-strategy β forcing the studios to expose their own AI practices β is a bold attempt to demonstrate that the line between permissible and impermissible AI training is blurry even for the accusers. The case could set important precedents for training data practices across the entire AI industry.
π― Why It Matters
If Midjourney succeeds in forcing Hollywood studios to disclose their own internal AI training practices, it could fundamentally reshape the copyright litigation landscape by revealing that the very companies suing AI startups are engaged in similar practices themselves.
AI image-generation startup Midjourney filed a legal motion to compel Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to reveal detailed information about their own internal use of generative AI. The studios sued Midjourney for copyright infringement, alleging its models can generate images of copyrighted characters like Bart Simpson and Darth Vader. Midjourney argues its use of copyrighted images for training is fair use. A judge had already ruled that studios must disclose AI usage that led to 'consumer-facing' content, but Midjourney is pushing to expand discovery to include internal AI use for storyboarding and ideation. Midjourney's argument is that if the studios themselves train AI on unlicensed copyrighted content for internal use, it proves such practices are industry custom.
The legal battle over AI training data has been one of the defining intellectual property fights of the AI era. Major copyright holders β including visual artists, news publishers, musicians, and now Hollywood studios β have sued AI companies, arguing that training on copyrighted works without permission constitutes infringement. The studios' position is that Midjourney's models threaten their intellectual property by enabling users to generate unauthorized character images. Midjourney's counter-strategy β forcing the studios to expose their own AI practices β is a bold attempt to demonstrate that the line between permissible and impermissible AI training is blurry even for the accusers. The case could set important precedents for training data practices across the entire AI industry.
If Midjourney succeeds in forcing Hollywood studios to disclose their own internal AI training practices, it could fundamentally reshape the copyright litigation landscape by revealing that the very companies suing AI startups are engaged in similar practices themselves.