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ARTICLE · 08 OCTOBER 2025

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Copyright On Trial: Major Studios Challenge AI Training Practices In Midjourney Lawsuit

S.S. Rana & Co.
S.S. Rana & Co.
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S.S. Rana & Co.

S.S. Rana & Co.

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On June 11, 2025, The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios jointly filed a landmark federal lawsuit against Midjourney, an artificial intelligence...

United StatesIntellectual Property
Shilpi Saurav
Shilpi Saurav
Nitika Sinha
Nitika Sinha
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On June 11, 2025, 1 The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios jointly filed a landmark federal lawsuit against Midjourney, an artificial intelligence company known for its sophisticated image-generation tools. The complaint, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses Midjourney of "massive and deliberate copyright infringement" for allowing users to create highly realistic depictions of proprietary characters such as Elsa, Shrek, Darth Vader, and Homer Simpson2 — without license or authorization.

The case is not merely a copyright dispute; it is a direct challenge to the core business model of generative AI companies that train on publicly scraped internet content. It represents a pivotal moment in the evolving clash between creative ownership and AI-driven innovation.

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