The battle between Hollywood and artificial intelligence has taken things up a notch: Disney, Universal and Warner Bros Discovery have filed a copyright lawsuit against the Chinese company MiniMax, which they accuse of using their franchises without permission to train and advertise their platform.
The brief, filed in the Central District of California Court, argues that Hailuo AI —MiniMax's image and video generator—has been promoted as a “Hollywood studio in your pocket” and that has distributed downloadable content with protected characters to attract users and customers.
The claim and its arguments
According to studies, with simple text prompts a subscriber can obtain high-quality images and videos of characters like Darth Vader (Star Wars), the Minions (Illumination/Universal), Wonder Woman (DC) Spider-Man (Marvel) or Batman (DC), all of them accompanied by the Hailuo brand.
The complaint adds that MiniMax would have used Ads and social media posts featuring icons like the Joker to advertise the service, which, in the plaintiffs' opinion, leads consumers to believe that there is an authorization or relationship with the rights holders.
The studios claim that they sent prior requirements for them to be implemented. filtering measures and safeguards similar to those of other AI services, but MiniMax did not respond to these requests or stop the questioned practices.
In their public communication, the companies emphasize that they support the technology, but demand a framework of responsible AI innovation that respects the licenses and intellectual property of the creators.
Labels and divisions of the conglomerates, including Lucasfilm, Marvel, Twentieth Century (Disney), DC (Warner), and drive the NBCUniversal front with its studios and animation (including DreamWorks), as part of a coordinated effort.
What the studies ask the court
The majors request a court order to prevent MiniMax from continuing to offer Hailuo AI without adequate protections and to stop the promotional use of unlicensed content based on its characters.
In addition, they claim the return of any benefit obtained through the alleged infringement and Legal damages of up to $150.000 for each affected work, along with other compensation provided for by US regulations.
Consulted by the media, MiniMax did not respond immediately to requests for comments on the content of the complaint.
MiniMax and its ecosystem
Based in Shanghai, MiniMax is one of China's most prominent AI startups, backed by investors such as HongShan (Sequoia China), Hillhouse and Alibaba, and focused on generative models of text to image and video.
According to its corporate website, its products and models cater to more than 157 million individual users in over 200 countries and regions, as well as over 50.000 businesses and developers in over 90 countries.
The company works for go public in Hong Kong with a valuation of over $4.000 billion, in parallel with its international expansion strategy.
Beyond Hailuo, MiniMax operates the character chatbot Talkie, which became its main source of income and was temporarily removed from the US App Store for “technical reasons,” before later returning.
In terms of popularity, Hailuo is usually behind Midjourney and Kling AI in generative AI app rankings, although it has received praise for the cinematic quality of its video results.
Background and legal framework
This legal action follows another case brought by Disney and Universal. against Midjourney for generating unauthorized derivative works; Warner Bros. Discovery also joined a subsequent lawsuit against that service.
The matter is framed in a wave of lawsuits in the US by rights holders—authors, media outlets, and record labels—against AI companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft or Anthropic for the use of protected content in model training.
In California, two district resolutions have indicated that training models with protected works can be protected under the fair useHowever, the studies emphasize that MiniMax's case also calls into question the generation and marketing of content with identifiable characters, something distinct from mere training.
What can come now
If the claim is successful, the court could require the implementation of filters and licenses to block requests with protected characters or, failing that, limit generation functions and promotional campaigns with unauthorized material.
For a large part of the sector, this litigation will be a key test of the Limits of generative AI in the audiovisual sector and what safeguards platforms must adopt to operate without invading the intellectual property of third parties.
The legal battle seals a rare unity between Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery to contain the exploitation of their unlicensed franchises, while MiniMax pursues expansion and IPOThe judges' decision will determine how services like Hailuo AI fit into Hollywood's creative and business landscape.
