Disney v. Midjourney
Disney & Universal v. Midjourney — Studio Copyright Action Against Image Generator (C.D. Cal.)
C.D. Cal. · Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. Midjourney, Inc., No. 2:25-cv-05275 (C.D. Cal.)
- Status
- Blocked / in litigation
- Took effect
- June 11, 2025
- Applies to
- Midjourney, Inc.
Disney and Universal — the first major Hollywood studios to sue a generative-AI company — filed a copyright action against Midjourney in June 2025 alleging Midjourney is a 'bottomless pit of plagiarism' that reproduces Star Wars, Marvel, Minions and other studio characters on demand.
Who is protected: Major motion-picture studios and franchise rights-holders
Legal detail
Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. Midjourney, Inc., No. 2:25-cv-05275 (C.D. Cal., filed June 11, 2025). Claims: direct and contributory copyright infringement against image and video generators. Seeks injunction and statutory damages. Discovery began Q1 2026.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | C.D. Cal. |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Citation | Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. Midjourney, Inc., No. 2:25-cv-05275 (C.D. Cal.) |
| Topics | copyright and training data |
| Court record | Disney and Universal Sue Midjourney for Copyright Infringement — Variety |
More AI rules in C.D. Cal.
- Young v. NeoCortext (Reface) · Blocked / in litigation
Related copyright and training data rules elsewhere
- Hachette v. Google (Gemini AI copyright) · Blocked / in litigation
- New York Stealth Crawler Prohibition Act (2026) · Proposed / pending
- Copyright Office AI Guidance · In effect
- USPTO AI Inventorship Guidance · Repealed / replaced
- NYT v. OpenAI / Microsoft · Blocked / in litigation
- Authors Guild v. OpenAI · Blocked / in litigation
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