In June, Disney and Universal launched a lawsuit against the AI platform, Midjourney. In their filing, they called it a “bottomless pit of plagiarism” that generates “endless unauthorized copies.” In September, Warner Bros. Discovery, along with its various divisions, also sued Midjourney accusing it of producing, displaying, and distributing “unauthorized derivatives” of its intellectual property including Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and more. Those two separate lawsuits were combined in the beginning of November. Now, the judge has asked for the parties involved to mediate their dispute.

A request for mediation before a trial begins isn’t uncommon, as it can prevent a long, dragged out, and costly lawsuit by various parties. With the initial timelines proposed, this one would have gone into 2027. There’s also a possibility a settlement was close and didn’t need a long trial. This is a huge case with a lot riding on it, so the move is a little surprising.

This case is referred to private mediation. Counsel are directed to contact the private mediator of their choice to arrange a date and time for the mediation.

It asks for the mediation proceeding to be completed by August 19, 2026 with a notice of settlement or joint report by August 21, 2026 and then a status conference set for August 31, 2026.

In September, Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against Midjourney. In it, they claim the tech company “brazenly dispenses its intellectual property as if it were its own.” Warner Bros. Discovery is accusing Midjourney of producing, displaying, and distributing “unauthorized derivatives” of its intellectual property including Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and more. Warner Bros. Discovery further claims Midjourney is aware of its “breathtaking scope of its piracy and copyright infringement.”

Now, as part of the court proceedings, the Register of Copyright has been informed that the action which was filed on September 4 by Warner Bros. Discovery is now consolidated with the similar case filed by Disney and Universal in June 2025.

In short, they’ve given the Register of Copyrights that the case which was two, is now 1, and the Disney earlier-filed case is the Lead Case with any following filings being only under the lead case.

Not the sexiest or most exciting of filings but important for those paying attention and needing to keep up with what’s going on.

Last week, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Universal started the court filings to combine their lawsuits against Midjourney, the AI platform. The companies are suing Midjourney for infringement and plagiarism. Disney and Universal filed a lawsuit together in June and then Warner Bros. Discovery filed their own lawsuit in September.

After the initial filing by Disney to combine the cases and form like Voltron, Warner Bros. Discovery has submitted their own statement in support of it and what Disney and Universal have done so far in their case. In October Midjourney responded to the lawsuit in court and the discovery plan was submitted.

While it’s not the sexiest of news, it is a step in what will be a lawsuit that will drag on for a year or two.

In June, Disney and Universal launched a lawsuit against the AI platform, Midjourney. In their filing, they called it a “bottomless pit of plagiarism” that generates “endless unauthorized copies.” In September, Warner Bros. Discovery, along with its various divisions, also sued Midjourney accusing it of producing, displaying, and distributing “unauthorized derivatives” of its intellectual property including Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and more. Now, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery have formed a supergroup consolidating their cases.

None of this is surprising, the two court cases are very similar not just in their claims but their arguments as well.

In the filing it says:

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a court to consolidate actions pending before it if those actions involve a “common question of law or fact” and a court may consider several factors that would affect the litigation including the burden on parties, witnesses, judicial resources, the risk of inconsistent adjudications, the potential for prejudice, and the risk of delaying trial”

the Disney/Universal Action and the Warner Bros. Discovery Action involve similar facts and circumstances, share similar causes of action, would require the Court to make similar determinations of law and fact, and as such, satisfy the requirement for consolidation under Rule 42(a)

In short, there’s a lot of overlap and things might get delayed and be hard to juggle since it’s the same defendant and the similar cases. So, to increase efficiency and decrease duplicating work, procedures, and avoiding “inconsistent adjudications,” they’re asking to combine the cases.

There’s some details that need to work out, like discovery.

Check out the joint stipulation below.