Minion is a character from a film produced by Universal Pictures.
Movie/Aramie
Disney and Universal have filed a lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney, which claims mass copyright infringement that allows users to create images that “blatantly incorporate and copy famous Disney and Universal characters.” This action could be a major turning point in the legal battle over AI copyright infringement negotiated by book publishers, press and other content creators.
Midjourney’s tool, which creates images from a text prompt, has 20 million users on its Discord server. The user is entering the input.
In the lawsuit, the two filmmaking giants share examples where Midi Joanie can create images that are strangely similar to characters who own rights such as the Disney-owned Minions, such as the Lion King. Companies claim that these outputs are the result of training AI with mid-journey copyrights. They also say that the Mid Journey “ignored” their attempts to remedy the issue before taking legal action.
In the complaint, the company states, “The Mid Journey is a typical copyright-free rider and a bottomless hole in plagiarism.” Midjourney didn’t respond immediately New ScientistRequest a comment.
The lawsuit is welcome Ed Newton Rex A nonprofit organization that promotes fairer training practices for AI companies. “This is a great day for creators around the world,” he says. “The government has shown worrying signs that by legalizing IP theft, it could bend over into intense Big Tech lobbying.
Newton-Rex claims that Midjourney engineers once told him that their actions were justified because the art was “ossified.” “Thankfully, this ridiculous defense won’t stand up in court,” he says.
Legal experts are equally frank about Midi Joanie’s potential for success. “It’s Disney so Midi Joanie is a mess, please forgive my French.” Andres Guadams At the University of Sussex, UK.
Guadams points out that a general approach to protecting Disney’s intellectual property – rarely, but robust, highlights the importance of that intervention. The film company took action several months after other organizations, including news publishers, pursued AI companies over alleged use of their own creations. Many of these cases were resolved after a license agreement was reached between the AI ​​company and the copyright holder.
“Media conglomerates are interested in breaching output. The models are so much better that they can easily create most of the characters you can imagine,” says Guadams. He believes Disney is waiting because “unlike publishers, they are not looking for a license agreement to survive.”
The two Titans’ involvement in the creative industry reveals itself, marking a moment of crossroads between AI and copyright, Guadamuz believes. “The fact that they’re going after the mid-journey says,” he says. The company specializes in image generation only, so compared to major AI companies, it is a minnow. “This is a message to large players, bringing together actions and starting to implement stronger filters.
Many large AI companies offer image generation tools within chatbots, but tend to create more strict police users’ ability to create images that incorporate copyrighted characters through dull guardrails.
Disney, which made $91 billion in revenue last year, is not looking to make money from the mid-journey. “This could be a message to come to the table and start negotiations. Since AI hasn’t disappeared, Disney might set this as an open marker for business,” says Guadams.
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