Business
Disney, Universal Join Forces Against Unexpected New Foe
Disney and Universal unite against a common enemy.
Disney and Universal Make Rare Alliance To Face New Challenge
It’s a clash straight out of a blockbuster script—Hollywood versus artificial intelligence. The names behind the world’s most beloved characters are stepping into the courtroom once again, this time aiming their sights at a new tech challenger with billions on the line.
The question isn’t whether AI is powerful—it’s whether it can be trusted with decades of creative legacies. For casual fans, it feels like a tug-of-war between innovation and imagination. For the studios, it’s a fight to defend the foundation of their business.
Now, just months after battling Midjourney, Disney and Universal have returned to court. But they’re not alone this time. The stakes are higher, the opponent is bigger, and the ripple effects could shape entertainment for decades.
The Breaking Update: Hollywood Targets MiniMax
According to a report from CNN, Disney and Universal Studios teamed up with Warner Bros. Discovery this week to file a lawsuit against MiniMax, the Chinese AI company behind the content generator Hailuo AI. The complaint, filed in California’s district court, alleges MiniMax used copyrighted material to build its models, then marketed the platform as nothing less than “a Hollywood studio in your pocket.”
The studios argue that Hailuo lets users instantly create downloadable images and videos of copyrighted characters without permission—from animated icons to superheroes. Warnings, they claim, went ignored.
“Innovation must respect intellectual property,” the studios said in a joint statement. “This lawsuit underscores our commitment to protecting creativity, wherever violations occur.”
Adding fuel to the fire, MiniMax is in the middle of transitioning into a public company, reportedly targeting a valuation north of $4 billion (Yahoo Finance). The lawsuit, if successful, could derail those plans entirely.
What It Means for Fans and Creators
While the courtroom drama unfolds, fans are left wondering how it will affect them. AI platforms like Hailuo made it easy to imagine new takes on beloved franchises—but if Hollywood wins, those tools may become restricted or vanish altogether.
For creators, the ruling could set limits on how AI-generated art is used. What feels like harmless fun online could be judged as copyright infringement, potentially shutting down communities that thrive on remixing popular culture.
This isn’t just about law; it’s about access, creativity, and where studios draw the line.
Insider Tips: Staying Safe in the AI Era
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Double-check AI tools. Stick to platforms that publicly state their models are trained on public-domain or licensed material.
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Don’t assume it’s “free.” Generating fan art of copyrighted characters could put you at risk.
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Expect tighter rules. The Midjourney case showed studios are watching closely. The MiniMax suit proves they’re ready to escalate.
Why This Fight Matters
This isn’t merely a business dispute—it’s a cultural turning point. Studios argue that decades of storytelling, artistry, and billions in investment are being undermined when AI can reproduce characters in seconds. Fans, meanwhile, are torn: many welcome stricter enforcement, while others fear creativity will be boxed in.
On social media, the case is sparking debates about ownership, art, and innovation. Some see the lawsuit as protecting creators’ rights; others see it as Hollywood clamping down on fan-driven expression.
Whatever the outcome, the precedent could redefine the entertainment industry worldwide.
Final Thoughts
Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. are making their position crystal clear: they won’t allow AI companies to freely borrow from their creative universes. With billions at stake, the courtroom battle against MiniMax may decide not just the future of AI—but the future of fandom itself.
Do you think AI companies should be restricted, or should fans have more freedom to create?
A year in, Business Insider’s AI onsite search is driving deeper engagement, though not necessarily broader adoption.
The AI search tool, which Business Insider launched in October 2024, is one of several AI-powered products developed by the company in the past year and discussed by BI CTO Harry Hope during a talk at this week’s Digiday Publishing Summit in Miami, Florida.
Although Business Insider’s AI search tool is currently only used by roughly one percent of Business Insider’s readership — Hope said that this was the percentage of readers who had used BI’s previous search tool, and that the “percentage hasn’t grown that dramatically in a year of use” — it has significantly increased the engagement of those who do use the tool, with click-through to articles increasing by 50 percent since October, per Hope.
“The goal here was to really find a way to build something that promoted journalism, not try and cover it up or paint it over with AI, right? We felt strongly that, when it comes to AI and chatbots, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” Hope said. “We can do creative things to actually promote the work that our journalists do day-in and day-out — and it worked quite well.”
Business Insider’s updated search tool isn’t the company’s only AI product that has grown over the past year. Consumption of BI’s AI audio briefings, which launched in June, has also grown by 20 percent month-over-month, per Hope. In addition to front-facing tools like the AI search and audio briefing, Business Insider staff have stepped up their internal use of AI, with Hope estimating that between 80 and 90 percent of staff were using AI tools — an increase from the roughly 70 percent of BI staff using AI tools in May.
“People are particularly interested in building GPTs for specific use cases. I think we have about 200 right now across our organization that people have created just for different, sometimes surprising, utilities,” said Hope, who elaborated that BI staff are using AI chatbots to simulate notes from editors or feedback from potential advertisers.
Business Insider was not the only publication that discussed AI search tools on the stage at this week’s conference. Wirecutter executive director of commerce Leilani Han said that the publication’s new AI-powered search feature had “definitely” improved click-throughs to its product recommendations, although she declined to share a specific growth figure.
Han added that Wirecutter was actively looking to optimize its content for AI search — but that it had found that the playbook for AI search optimization is not a huge shift from the playbook for traditional search optimization.
“The planning doesn’t seem to be drastically different,” she said. “For us, our focus has always been certainly the readers, and that hasn’t really changed.”
During his Publishing Summit talk, Hope acknowledged that Business Insider’s AI tools aren’t yet a significant revenue stream for the company, although BI views products such as the AI audio briefing as potential advertising or sponsorship inventory down the line. For now, Business Insider is investing in AI because it believes it will improve the company’s bottom line in the future — not because it’s a huge moneymaker in 2025.
“The ROI doesn’t look great — I’m not going to lie to you, just if you compare the dollars and cents — but we need to weigh that against where we see the future panning out, where the puck is going,” Hope said. “And part of it involves buy-in and faith from your organization that it is valuable to spend some of your resources on these tools and these technologies.”
Baidu has launched a slew of AI applications after its Ernie chatbot received public approval.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Chinese tech giant Baidu saw its shares in Hong Kong soar as much as 12% on Wednesday as the company ramps up its artificial intelligence plans and partnerships.
Shares in the Beijing-based firm, which holds a dominant position in China’s search engine market, had gained 9% overnight in U.S. trading.
The strong stock performance comes after Baidu earlier this week secured an AI-related deal with China Merchants Group, a major state-owned enterprise, focused on transportation, finance, and property development.
“Both sides plan to focus on applications of large language models, AI agents and ‘digital employees,’ vowing to make scalable and sustainable progress in industrial intelligence based on real-life business scenarios,” according to Baidu’s statement translated by CNBC.
Baidu has been aggressively pursuing its AI business, which includes its popular large language model and AI chat bot Ernie Bot.
On Tuesday the company disclosed a 4.4 billion yuan ($56.2 million) offshore bond offering due 2029, in a move that will help grow its war chest as it seeks to compete in China’s competitive AI space.
Other Chinese AI players like Tencent have also been raising funds including via debt sale this year as they pour billions into their AI capabilities.
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