SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Top Hollywood studios filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Chinese artificial intelligence company MiniMax, alleging massive copyright infringement.

Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Universal Pictures accuse MiniMax of building what they call a “bootlegging business model” that systematically copies their most valuable copyrighted characters to train its AI system, then profits by generating unauthorised videos featuring iconic figures like Spider-Man, Batman, and the Minions.

The lawsuit marks the first time major United States (US) entertainment companies have targeted a Chinese AI company and follows a similar lawsuit in June against California-based AI company Midjourney over copyright infringement.

“MiniMax operates Hailuo AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence image and video generating service that pirates and plunders Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works on a massive scale,” states the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court.

The studios are seeking monetary damages, including MiniMax’s profits from the alleged infringement, as well as statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work.

They also demand a permanent injunction to stop the unauthorised use of their copyrighted material.

According to the 119-page complaint, MiniMax users can simply type prompts like “Darth Vader walking around the Death Star” or “Spider-Man swinging between buildings” to receive high-quality videos featuring these protected characters.

“MiniMax completely disregards US copyright law and treats Plaintiffs’ valuable copyrighted characters like its own,” the lawsuit states.

MiniMax, one of China’s emerging AI giants, was reportedly valued at $4 billion in 2025 after raising $850 million in venture capital.

The lawsuit says the studios sent MiniMax a cease-and-desist letter detailing the extensive copyright violations, but the company “did not substantively respond to Plaintiffs’ letter as requested and did not cease its infringement.”

The studios argue that MiniMax could easily implement copyright protection measures similar to those used by other AI services, but has chosen not to do so.

A request for comment from MiniMax did not receive a response.