Tests Show Midjourney Generates Yoda-Like Images from Descriptive Prompts, Sparking Copyright Debate

Midjourney generated images resembling the Star Wars character Yoda when prompted with descriptions of a small green creature wearing a robe, even without using the name Yoda, according to tests. In one test, an image of Degobah from the original Star Wars trilogy was uploaded as a reference containing no characters, and the prompt produced a character closely matching Yoda. com reported.

Without the reference image, Midjourney still produced Yoda-like images if enough physical characteristics were included in the prompt, though less frequently. The AI model also generated images of Grogu from The Mandalorian in some tests. The entrepreneur shared these findings with studios involved in the lawsuit against Midjourney.

Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. sued Midjourney for copyright infringement in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Separately, the same studios are suing Chinese firm Minimax.

Lawyers for Midjourney stated that using publicly available material to train AI models falls under transformative fair use and is legal. The entrepreneur launched LightBar in January as a policing platform that paid people to use AI models and uncover ways copyrighted characters were generated. VN.ai is the actual company behind a product for forensic IP detection.

The company tests AI models to demonstrate reproduction of copyrighted material, with revenue planned from bespoke contractor fees and subscriptions to its anti-piracy monitoring platform. The entrepreneur, with a background in fintech, has invested over $100,000 of his own money into the startup, which uncovers IP piracy in AI video and image generators.

He was motivated last year when users employed ChatGPT’s image generator to create images ripping off the style of Studio Ghibli, the Japanese anime studio.

The entrepreneur stated, 'I was just like, OK, someone needs to do something about this. ' Kim Meyer, a partner at Bard Marella who represented Scarlett Johansson in her lawsuit against OpenAI, stated that the use of copyrighted material in training data is likely fair use, but exceptions can depend on various facts. Meyer noted that courts have mostly sided with AI firms so far.

She added that copyright law may need a major overhaul to address AI-era disputes effectively.