Hollywood, 16 September 2025 — Walt Disney, Universal (part of Comcast), and Warner Bros. Discovery have jointly taken legal action against Chinese AI startup MiniMax, accusing its “Hailuo AI” service of using iconic protected characters without authorization. The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. district court in California, claims that MiniMax unlawfully featured figures such as Darth Vader, the Minions, and Wonder Woman in its promotional materials and allowed users to generate images and videos of them, all while branding the service as a “Hollywood studio in your pocket.”
According to the complaint, when subscribers type simple text prompts into Hailuo AI, the system can generate downloadable content depicting these famous characters, effectively bypassing licensing or copyright protections held by the studios. The studios assert that they previously warned MiniMax and asked it to implement measures to avoid infringement, but that MiniMax did not adequately respond.
Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery argue that MiniMax not only used their characters in marketing, but also encouraged infringement by ignoring U.S. copyright laws. They are seeking a court order to force MiniMax to adopt proper protections and halt the service unless it complies.
The lawsuit against MiniMax is part of a growing wave of litigation by media companies globally against AI firms accused of using copyrighted content without permission—cases that include previous suits against platforms like Midjourney. What makes the MiniMax case significant is its scale: MiniMax claims more than 157 million users worldwide and is reportedly seeking a valuation exceeding US$4 billion.
To the studios, the stakes are not only about licensing or damages, but about establishing precedent. In an era when generative AI is increasingly able to reproduce familiar characters, artworks, and even entire film scenes with minimal human input, companies are growing increasingly concerned about protecting intellectual property. If the case succeeds, it may force AI companies to put stricter controls in place—both in their training data and in the output generated.
Meanwhile, MiniMax has yet to publicly comment on the lawsuit’s claims. Observers will be watching closely to see how U.S. courts interpret these allegations—whether features like user prompts, derivative content, and branding constitute copyright infringement or fall under fair use or other defences under U.S. law.
Source: Reuters
