Few companies embody the power of storytelling like Warner Bros. For over a century, its films and characters have not only entertained audiences, but have shaped cultural identity. From the charm of Looney Tunes to the heroism of DC Comics, these creations are more than just pastime enjoyment; they are intellectual property worth billions. Today, that legacy is being challenged in a new arena: artificial intelligence (“AI”). On September 2, 2025, Warner Bros. filed a lawsuit against Midjourney, a “San Francisco-based tech company” that “lets users create AI-generated images.”[1] Warner Bros. alleges that Midjourney “brazenly stole the studio’s works to generate images of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and other copyrighted characters.”[2] At its core, this dispute raises a legal question with the power to permanently transform the intersection of entertainment and technology: does training AI models on copyrighted works qualify as fair use, or does it cross the line into unlawful exploitation of protected works?
Warner Bros. claims Midjourney “thinks it is above the law” by allowing users to generate images of the media company’s well-known characters. Warner Bros. is not alone in its stance as the issues at hand extend beyond just this single case. In fact, Warner Bros. has become the third major entertainment studio to accuse Midjourney of “blatant copyright violations,” joining earlier suits filed on behalf of Disney and Universal.[3] In both suits, the common notion is the claim that Midjourney outputs “closely resemble copyrighted characters,” raising concerns about the extent to which AI platforms can perform without stronger barriers in place to combat improper appropriation.[4]
Copyright infringement occurs “when a copyrighted work is distributed, copied, publicly displayed or performed, and/or used to inspire a derivative work without the copyright owner’s permission.”[5] One common defense against copyright infringement is fair use: “fair use permits a party to use a copyrighted work without the copyright owner’s permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.”[6] Although Midjourney has not yet commented on the Warner Bros. lawsuit, the company did respond to Disney, proclaiming that its use of copyrighted characters qualified as “fair use.”[7] In that filing, Midjourney argued that studios are attempting to “have it both ways,” asserting that they rely on AI tools themselves while simultaneously seeking to penalize the service.[8]
Notably, the outputs in question are not limited to obvious prompts. The company’s system allegedly returns images “even in response to prompts like ‘classic comic book superhero battle’ that don’t explicitly mention any particular intellectual property.”[9] As evidence, Warner Bros. attached “dozens of images” comparing outputs to stills from its films.[10] For example, the complaint contains evidence from Discord, a messaging platform where users share with each other various characters they’ve made in different settings, with some images being “cross overs between fictional worlds, such as one that portrays Batman with R2-D2 on the Star Wars planet Dagobah, portrayed “in the style of [filmmaker] Tim Burton.””[11] The incorporation of these examples highlights Warner Bros.’ attempt to demonstrate not just similar, but pure replication of its protected works. Further, the complaint asserts that “Midjourney already possesses the technological means and measures that could prevent its distribution, public display and public performance of infringing images and videos,” but it has chosen not to implement them.[12] Instead, “Midjourney has made a calculated and profit-driven decision to offer zero protection for copyright owners even though Midjourney knows about the breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement.”[13] Thus, Warner Bros. contends that “based on ‘circumstantial evidence’ and ‘common knowledge about the process for creating a generative AI service,’ Midjourney likely gathered copies of copyrighted characters to train its model, reformatted them and then used them to train the model.”[14]
The Warner Bros. lawsuit against Midjourney illustrates the growing friction between long standing copyright protections and the potential disruptive nature of AI. The outcome of this case will likely form not only the legal boundaries of copyright in the digital age, but also the business models of AI companies that depend on training data gathered from copyrighted works. If courts treat training data as copying, AI developers may need to seek licenses or risk facing legal repercussions. However, if courts accept the fair use defense, rights holders may find themselves with fewer tools to protect their intellectual property from unlawful reproduction. Beyond the courtroom, the dispute raises policy questions about how copyright law should adapt to new technologies. Should Congress create new frameworks for AI training data? If so, what are its limitations? How can the law balance protecting creators while simultaneously encouraging innovation? And what safeguards should be required to prevent AI from replacing the very content on which it was trained? As this case moves forward, it will not only test the strength of Warner Bros.’ claim, but will also set the stage for how the entertainment and technology industries coexist in the age of AI.
[1] Chris Morris, Warner Bros. Is Suing This AI Startup, Claiming It Stole Superman’s Image,Inc.(Sep. 5, 2025) https://www.inc.com/chris-morris/warner-bros-is-suing-ai-startup-midjourney-claiming-it-stole-supermans-image/91236300.
[2] Jonathan Stempel, Warner Bros Discovery sues AI photo generator Midjourney for stealing Superman, Scooby-Doo, Reuters (Sep. 4, 2025) https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/warner-bros-discovery-sues-ai-photo-generator-midjourney-stealing-superman-2025-09-04/.
[3] Gene Maddaus, Warner Bros. Joins Studios’ AI Copyright Battle Against Midjourney, Variety (Sep. 4, 2025) https://variety.com/2025/film/news/warner-bros-midjourney-lawsuit-ai-copyright-1236508618/.
[4] Id.
[5] Copyright litigation 101, Thomson Reuters (Dec. 16, 2022) https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/copyright-litigation-101/.
[6] What is Fair Use? Copyright Alliance (last visited Sep. 26, 2025).
[7] Morris, supra note 1.
[8] Id.
[9] Winston Cho, Warner Bros. Discovery Sues AI Giant Midjourney for Copyright Infringement In Major Legal Battle, The Hollywood Reporter (Sep. 4, 2025) https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-sues-ai-company-copyright-infringement-1236361610/.
[10] Id.
[11] Weld, supra note 3.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.