Disney’s Midjourney Lawsuit Sparks Broad AI Copyright Campaign

Walt Disney Co.'s top lawyer announced in June 2025 that the copyright lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney is part of a larger campaign to prevent AI companies from exploiting Disney characters. The studio aims to protect franchises like Star Wars and Marvel from unauthorized AI-generated content.

It is part of a campaign to protect our intellectual property rights in the world of generative AI. This is our first case, but it likely won’t be the last,

Disney’s top lawyer Horacio Gutierrez stated.

Multi-Pronged Strategy Beyond Litigation

Disney plans to follow a broad strategy to address AI companies’ use of its intellectual property. This involves engaging with AI developers on usage guidelines, working with industry and regulatory bodies to establish clearer rules for AI training and content generation and pursuing additional litigation if needed.

The studio is also in discussions with leading AI platforms to negotiate terms of use and explore technical safeguards such as watermarking or training-data exclusions. According to Disney's counsel, similar actions could follow against other AI providers if they do not adopt proper licensing or filtering measures.

Initial Lawsuit Details and Industry Context

Disney and Comcast-owned Universal filed the Midjourney suit in Los Angeles federal court on June 11, 2025, accusing the AI startup of copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that Midjourney's image-generation models were trained on copyrighted Disney works, producing unauthorized images of characters such as Darth Vader and Elsa.

The action joins a wave of litigation by major studios (Universal/Marvel, and a couple of others) challenging AI firms over training on copyrighted material. Disney is also reviewing its own AI practices internally to ensure compliance with emerging norms and set industry-wide standards.