Disney, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery sued Chinese AI firm MiniMax in federal court on Tuesday, accusing the company of a “willful and brazen” copyright infringement scheme to use their original characters as its own.
“MiniMax’s bootlegging business model and defiance of U.S. copyright law are not only an attack on Plaintiffs and the hard-working creative community that brings the magic of movies to life, but are also a broader threat to the American motion picture industry, which has created millions of jobs and contributed more than $260 billion to the nation’s economy,” the complaint read, in documents obtained by TheWrap.
“We support innovation that enhances human creativity while protecting the contributions of countless creators and the entire creative industry,” the three companies said in a joint statement to TheWrap. “A responsible approach to AI innovation is critical, and today’s lawsuit against MiniMax again demonstrates our shared commitment to holding accountable those who violate copyright laws, wherever they may be based.”
The lawsuit marks the second time the entertainment titans have banded together to protect their work against AI companies. Disney and NBCUniversal sued the generative AI company Midjourney in June, alleging similar copyright infringement complaints. Warner Bros. joined that lawsuit earlier this month.
The legal effort underscores the lengths companies have gone to protect their work from AI’s rapid encroachment. The New York Times filed a blockbuster suit against OpenAI and Microsoft in late 2023, alleging the companies infringed upon their works, and other publishers have taken efforts to either partner with AI companies or protect their work from online “scraping,” which allows AI software to use others’ work to improve its models.
MiniMax filed an IPO in Hong Kong in July at a $4 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Shanghai-based company is backed by Alibaba and Tencent.
