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Disney and Universal have filed a lawsuit against AI company Midjourney, accusing its image generator of rampant plagiarism. The studios claim the tool produces countless copies of iconic characters such as Darth Vader, Elsa from Frozen, and the Minions from Despicable Me.
It is part of the entertainment industry's ongoing love-hate relationship with AI. Many studios want to make use of the technology but are concerned that their creations could be stolen.
Midjourney's image generator makes images from typed requests or prompts.
In the lawsuit filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the studios gave examples of Midjourney-generated images that included Disney characters such as Star Wars' Yoda and Marvel's Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man.
Disney's chief legal officer Horacio Gutierrez said the firm was "optimistic" about how AI "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," he said.
In the complaint, Disney and Universal said Midjourney made $300m (£221m) last year alone and is planning a "soon-to-be-released video service".
On its website, the San Francisco-based startup says it has a "small self-funded team" with less than a dozen full-time staffers. It refers to itself as "an independent research lab."
The firm is run by David Holz, who previously founded a hardware sensor firm called Leap Motion.
Midjourney lists former Github chief executive Nat Friedman and Philip Rosedale, founder of Second Life, among its advisors.
Hollywood sees both potential upsides and downsides to AI.
It was only two years ago that actors and writers shut down the entertainment industry hub with strikes demanding protections against new technology. But now AI is being used more in TV, films and video games.
