Universal Pictures is taking a stand against tech companies using films as training tools for artificial intelligence.
The film studio is now adding a warning to the end credits of its films. The warning says: “This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.” Along with a message saying that the movie “may not be used to train AI.”
The message started with How to Train Your Dragon in June and has also been spotted during the end credits of other films including Jurassic World Rebirth and Bad Guys 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The warning may be a response to companies like Fable Studios, which runs a platform called Showrunner. Showrunner, which launched in June 2024, allows users to use AI to create episodes of shows with a simple prompt. The company is planning a 2026 theatrical release of a fully AI-created movie, and is targeting companies like Disney for licensing agreements so that users can create new stories using familiar characters and settings.
Other platforms, like Midjourney, are going one step further and allowing users to replicate scenes frame by frame. When users enter a prompt, they’ll be given results that include characters and full frames that are identical to those in movies and TV shows. Disney and Universal filed a complaint of copyright infringement against the company in June.
The complaint says: “By helping itself to Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works, and then distributing images (and soon videos) that blatantly incorporate and copy Disney’s and Universal’s famous characters—without investing a penny in their creation—Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism. Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing.”
According to the filing, Midjourney made $300 million last year by using copyrighted material, including characters like Minions and Po from Kung Fu Panda.
While some studios and services are fighting against AI, others are embracing it. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently said AI was used to create the Argentine science fiction show The Eternaut. He said that the team was able to create a scene of a building collapsing 10 times faster than if they had used traditional creative tools.
“That sequence actually is the very first [generative] AI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix original series or film. So the creators were thrilled with the result,” Sarandos said during the company’s quarterly earnings call, according to a report from the BBC.
