AI ETHICS AND REGULATION
“ OUR WORLD-CLASS IP IS BUILT ON DECADES OF FINANCIAL INVESTMENT, CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION”
HORACIO GUTIERREZ, SENIOR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER, WALT DISNEY
In a 2022 interview with Forbes, Midjourney CEO David says he built the company’ s database by performing“ a big scrape of the Internet.”
Asked whether he sought consent of the artists whose work was covered by copyright, he responded,“ there isn’ t really a way to get a hundred million images and know where they’ re coming from.”
Disney and Universal are now seeking US $ 150,000 per infringed work and an order preventing future copyright infringement by Midjourney. Furthermore, an exhibit to the complaint lists more than 150 works that were allegedly infringed – meaning damages from the lawsuit could top US $ 20m.
“ We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity,” Horacio says.
“ But piracy is piracy and the fact that it’ s done by an AI company does not make it any less infringing.”
Midjourney has not released a public statement about the suit, but in an 18 June blog post announcing version one of its new video model said:“ We ask that you please use these technologies responsibly. Properly utilised, it’ s not just fun, it can also be really useful, or even profound – to make old and new worlds suddenly alive.”
Disney establishes Office of Technology Enablement for AI coordination Disney has now adopted a contrasting approach to AI integration, forming the Office of Technology Enablement to coordinate emerging technology applications across its divisions.
This initiative is part of Disney’ s systematic push into AI and mixed reality technologies as the entertainment industry grapples with challenges and opportunities presented by AI and extended reality technologies.
The Office of Technology Enablement will focus on AI and mixed reality, which blends elements of augmented and virtual reality( VR) to create immersive experiences that merge physical and digital worlds.
138 August 2025