Protection of Copyright in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Disney and Universal v. Midjourney
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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0208-2807
Abstract
On June 11, 2025, Disney and Universal Studios filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence (hereinafter: AI) company Midjourney for copyright infringement. This is the first lawsuit filed by major Hollywood companies against an AI company, and therefore it has the potential to establish a significant precedent for generative AI. Having this in mind, the author will attempt to examine the legal issues presented by generative AI and its implications for copyright protection. This paper is a comparative study of U.S. and European law with respect to the challenges posed by generative AI, and it proposes solutions to these issues, taking into account the differences in these legal traditions. Through the use of legal-dogmatic and comparative methods, as well as case study, analytic, and synthetic methods, the author aims to identify a universal solution to the global problem represented by AI – a problem that has been brought to the forefront by this and many other lawsuits.
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