Warner Bros. Discovery sues Midjourney over AI generation of Superman, Batman, and other characters

What happened: In mid-September 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery filed an 87-page copyright complaint against Midjourney in Los Angeles federal court. WBD alleges Midjourney trained its AI on unauthorized copies of WBD's copyrighted works and lets subscribers generate infringing images and videos of characters including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and characters from Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Rick and Morty, and The Powerpuff Girls. The complaint alleges the infringement was "systematic, ongoing and wilful," noting Midjourney had temporarily blocked outputs featuring WBD characters when it launched its video generation service but later lifted the protections. WBD seeks unspecified damages, disgorgement of profits, statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work, attorneys' fees, and a permanent injunction. The suit follows a similar June 2026 complaint against Midjourney by Disney and Comcast's Universal over characters including Darth Vader, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.

Why it matters to creators: Major studios are now suing image-generation services directly over character reproduction, pushing courts to decide how much AI-generated output can resemble protected characters before it infringes. The pattern of studios asking Midjourney to stop before suing sets a template for rights-holder enforcement.

What is not yet known: No court ruling yet; Midjourney's response was not reported in the source reviewed.