• Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros Discovery have sued MiniMax for copyright infringement.
• The lawsuit claims MiniMax illegally used characters like Darth Vader and Minions to market its AI service.
• The studios seek damages up to $150,000 for each infringed work and a halt to further infringements.
• MiniMax's AI app is marketed as “a Hollywood studio in your pocket,” generating unauthorized content.
• This lawsuit is part of a broader wave of copyright litigation against AI companies.

Walt Disney, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros Discovery have jointly filed a copyright lawsuit against the Chinese AI firm MiniMax, alleging that its service, Hailuo AI, infringes upon their intellectual property by generating unauthorized images and videos featuring popular characters. The lawsuit, filed in a California district court, claims that MiniMax is "pirating and plundering" the copyrighted works of the studios on a massive scale, promoting Hailuo AI as “a Hollywood studio in your pocket” to deceive users into believing it operates within legal boundaries, according to Bangkok Post, India Times, and AA.

The studios contend that MiniMax's application generates high-quality videos and images of trademarked characters without permission, including iconic figures like Darth Vader, Wonder Woman, and the Minions. In response to these alleged violations, the studios are seeking financial damages up to $150,000 for each infringed work, along with requests to prevent MiniMax from continuing its infringing activities. They assert that the infringement poses a "broader threat to the American motion picture industry," which significantly contributes to the U.S. economy, as noted by Bangkok Post and India Times.

The case against MiniMax represents a continuation of the legal challenges faced by AI companies, with a notable precedential suit by Disney and Universal against Midjourney for similar copyright issues earlier this year. The studios argue that MiniMax has failed to adopt necessary measures to secure copyrights, thereby exacerbating the impact on a creative industry that employs millions. These concerns have been recognized globally, with statements from representatives, including those from the Chinese Foreign Ministry emphasizing China's commitment to intellectual property protection, as cited by Bangkok Post and AA.