Disney, Warner and Universal soon to be forced to reveal their practices with AI?

The lawsuit between Midjourney and Hollywood studios could take a new turn. The artificial intelligence platform is seeking to force three studios to reveal part of its internal secrets related to AI.

The standoff between Hollywood and artificial intelligence has only just begun.

Engaged in a legal battle against the image generator Midjourney, Disney Studios, Warner Bros. and Universal may be required to reveal some of their own AI practices.

As a reminder, the three studios accused the platform of having “trained” its artificial intelligence by using works protected by copyright, without authorization, in order to allow users to generate images inspired by their characters and universes. Midjourney, for its part, invokes the principle of “fair use” to ensure its defense.

But Midjourney does not intend to stop there.

According to Varietythe company is contesting this recent court decision and asking a federal judge, John Kronstadt, to authorize it to access internal studio documents. His goal? Demonstrate that Disney, Warner Bros. and Universal would also use AI models trained on protected content, particularly for storyboarding, development or project creation.

Midjourney’s lawyer, Bobby Ghajar, believes that if the studios employ the same methods they are denouncing today, it would considerably strengthen his client’s defense.

The information requested goes well beyond simple AI tools intended for the general public. Midjourney particularly wishes to access the studios’ strategies around AI, their research, their training datasets, and even the minutes of their board of directors meetings devoted to this technology.

For the moment, justice has only authorized access to information concerning AI tools accessible to consumers, ruling that the studios’ valuable internal documents have no direct link to the dispute. Midjourney now hopes to have the court reverse this decision.

If this request is successful, the trial could take on a whole new dimension by forcing the Hollywood giants to lift the veil on their own experiments with artificial intelligence.