Disney, Warner Bros and NBCUniversal unite in lawsuit against Chinese AI firm

Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, and NBCUniversal have taken a bold step by filing a lawsuit against Chinese artificial intelligence company MiniMax. 

The case, brought to a federal court in California, accused the company of stealing some of Hollywood’s most famous characters to fuel its image and video generating platform, Hailuo AI.

In the lawsuit, the studios said Hailuo AI was like having “a Hollywood studio in your pocket” because it could instantly create lifelike pictures and clips of beloved characters. 

However, they argued that MiniMax built its business “from intellectual property stolen from Hollywood studios like Plaintiffs.” 

Examples included AI made images of Darth Vader simply from typed prompts.

The complaint described MiniMax’s actions as “willful and brazen” and said the company ignored repeated cease and desist letters. 

It added that while the firm use tools to block nudity or violence, it deliberately refused to use similar filters to protect copyrighted content.

Moreover, the plaintiffs represented some of the biggest names in entertainment. 

Disney included Marvel, Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox. Warner Bros Discovery named DC Comics, Cartoon Network and Hanna Barbera. NBCUniversal added DreamWorks Animation. Together they warned that MiniMax’s practices were not only harmful to them but also a danger to the wider creative industry. 

“MiniMax’s bootlegging business model and defiance of U.S. copyright law are… a broader threat to the American motion picture industry,” the filing said.

In a united statement, the studios made clear they supported progress in AI but not at the expense of creators. “Today’s lawsuit against MiniMax again demonstrates our shared commitment to holding accountable those who violate copyright laws, wherever they may be based.”

MiniMax, valued at four billion dollars with more than 157 million users worldwide, has not commented on the case just yet.