"Piracy is piracy," says Disney's chief legal officer, as the studios aim to show that tools allowing personalized AI slop creations of characters like Darth Vader or Shrek run afoul of their IP.

Disney and Universal sued popular artificial intelligence image-generator Midjourney on Wednesday, marking the first time major Hollywood companies have taken legal action against a maker of generative AI technology that could upend the entertainment industry.

Midjourney users can create AI images of protected characters like Shrek, Yoda and Marvel superheroes, according to a new lawsuit.