Midjourney Seeks to Reveal Studios' Use of AI in High-Stakes Copyright Battle

Midjourney is pushing to compel Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to disclose how they themselves use artificial intelligence, as part of its defense in a major copyright infringement lawsuit. The studios sued the AI image generator last year, alleging it enabled widespread unauthorized reproduction of their copyrighted characters.

Midjourney has invoked a "fair use" defense and is now using the discovery process to probe the studios' own AI practices — a legal maneuver that could complicate the plaintiffs' position and shed light on how Hollywood's biggest IP holders are quietly deploying the same technology they are suing over.