Midjourney, an AI startup, is engaged in a legal dispute with three major Hollywood studios—Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros.—over allegations of copyright infringement.

The conflict began when these studios sued Midjourney for using its image-generation models to create images of copyrighted characters like Bart Simpson and Darth Vader.In response, Midjourney argues that training AI on such content falls under fair use.The current legal battle centers on the scope of documentation the studios must provide during discovery.

A judge previously ruled that studios only need to disclose AI usage related to consumer-facing outputs, but Midjourney seeks to overturn this limitation, claiming it allows studios to selectively share information detrimental to its defense.

The startup asserts that hidden documents could reveal whether studios themselves are using unlicensed copyrighted content for internal purposes like storyboarding or content ideation.Additionally, Midjourney demands full disclosure of all prompts and outputs used in their AI models, not just those linked to alleged infringements.

Studios' attorney David Singer criticized the request as a 'fishing expedition,' emphasizing that the studios aim to stop unauthorized use of their intellectual property rather than eliminate AI technology itself.