Midjourney is seeking to compel Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to disclose their internal use of generative AI as part of ongoing copyright litigation, arguing that the studios may be engaged in the same practices they are suing the startup for.
The three studios sued Midjourney in 2025, alleging that its AI models could generate images of copyrighted characters including Bart Simpson, Darth Vader, Superman, and Batman without authorisation. Midjourney has maintained that training on copyrighted images is protected under fair use.
The current dispute centres on the scope of discovery. A judge previously ruled that the studios must provide information about their generative AI usage, but limited that obligation to instances producing consumer-facing content. In its latest filing, Midjourney is seeking to overturn that restriction, arguing it allows the studios to selectively produce only documents supporting their own claims while withholding material relevant to Midjourney’s defence.
The startup contends that internal studio documents, particularly those related to AI tools used in storyboarding or content development, could demonstrate that training AI on unlicensed copyrighted material is standard industry practice, even among the plaintiffs themselves. Midjourney also wants full disclosure of every prompt the studios have submitted to its platform, not only those linked to allegedly infringing outputs.
The studios’ lead attorney David Singer characterised Midjourney’s requests as a fishing expedition, maintaining that the studios are not seeking to shut down AI technology but simply want Midjourney to stop reproducing their protected characters without permission.
