The growing prevalence of generative AI has become an existential crisis for working artists. It was one of the many reasons Hollywood’s writers and actors went on strike in 2023, as they sought protections against technology that studios and streamers seemed so eager to embrace. Writers worked particularly hard to draw a firm line against artificial intelligence; unsurprisingly, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers initially pushed back against artists’ demands.
Though the parties eventually reached a tentative agreement, AI has only gained a greater foothold. Screenwriters are turning to ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas. Directors have used Sora AI to create short films. And elsewhere, AI-generated memes have become a bewildering form of warfare for chronically online politicians.
Funnily enough, it’s the latter that’s finally brought Hollywood studios into the fray. After years of silence, Disney and Universal are teaming up against Midjourney, one of the largest and most prevalent AI companies. Their lawsuit describes Midjourney as a “bottomless pit of plagiarism,” as it gives subscribers the power to generate images of copyrighted characters. Since studios haven’t entered any licensing agreements with AI companies, AI-generated versions of Disney’s Darth Vader and Universal’s Shrek are technically pirated works. Midjourney is being hit with a cease and desist, not to protect artists against AI, but to maintain the exclusivity of their brands.
“Our world-class IP is built on decades of financial investment, creativity, and innovation — investments only made possible by the incentives embodied in copyright law that give creators the exclusive right to profit from their works,” said Horacio Gutierrez, general counsel for Disney. “We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity. But piracy is piracy, and the fact that it’s done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing.”
It’s nice to see two big studios finally take a stand against something, but it’s a little irksome to know this complaint boils down to intellectual property and the money made off it. Disney and Universal aren’t taking issue with the idea of generative AI altogether; what matters is that Midjourney is allegedly violating copyrights by creating personalized images of popular characters. The studios are taking issue with the ways Midjourney collects material from internet data, creates copies of copyrighted works, and displays them publicly on its Explore page.
To combat Midjourney’s brazen theft, Disney and Universal have called for a “balanced approach to AI that both protects intellectual property and embraces responsible, human-centered innovation.” How said approach can possibly be enforced in earnest remains to be seen, but if the studios get their way, this could be the first step to regulating generative AI in Hollywood. At the very least, we may not have to suffer another bad Vader meme again.
