Overview
- The lawsuit was filed on September 16, 2025, by Disney and 11 affiliated plaintiffs including Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery against MiniMax, SXJT, and Nanonoble.
- This week a federal judge in the Central District of California denied MiniMax’s motion to dismiss, finding the studios’ allegations plausible enough to proceed to discovery.
- The complaint says MiniMax trained its Hailuo image and video generator on unauthorized copies of studio works and produced outputs featuring characters such as Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Shrek.
- MiniMax argued the U.S. court lacked jurisdiction and that 'MiniMax' is only a brand, but the judge rejected those defenses and scheduled a hearing on remaining procedural issues.
- The case could affect Hailuo’s business and investor value because the studios seek injunctions, restitution and damages, and the litigation adds to a growing wave of copyright suits testing how AI models may be held liable for training-data choices.