In 2026, among the major copyright cases to watch is the consolidated case against Midjourney, Inc. pending in the Central District of California brought by Disney, Warner Brothers, and Universal. Midjourney offers an AI tool that generates images based on text prompts and may soon offer video services. The studios allege that Midjourney’s use of the studios’ content to train Midjourney’s AI models infringes their copyrights. Midjourney’s primary defense is that its use of the content is “fair use” under the copyright laws.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) went into effect in 1998. The DMCA was enacted to provide copyright protection from online infringement, provide safe havens for online service providers from being sued for copyright infringement, and make it illegal to circumvent systems designed to protect copyrighted works. By many accounts, the law has been a success to both copyright holders and publishers.
With the rise of the use of generative AI training comes the risk of potential lawsuits from copyright owners whose works have been used without their authorization. The US Copyright Office is stepping up to provide guidance to keep up with this evolving technology and help define what constitutes fair use.