‘Blade Runner 2049’ Producers Sue Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Over Unauthorized AI Images After Permission Denied

Oct 21, 2024, 07:58 PM

Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind the 2017 film "Blade Runner 2049," has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, Elon Musk, and Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging copyright infringement and circumvention of copyright laws. The lawsuit claims that after being denied permission to use images from the film, Tesla fed images from "Blade Runner 2049" into an artificial intelligence image generator to create unlicensed promotional materials for the launch of Tesla’s new autonomous cybercab, also known as a robotaxi. The allegedly infringing imagery, described in the lawsuit as "highly offensive" and "problematic," was used during Tesla's "We, Robot" presentation, which was live-streamed from a Warner Bros. Discovery studio. The lawsuit also cites Elon Musk's "extreme political and social views" as a factor and accuses Warner Bros. Discovery of facilitating the partnership and allowing the use of the AI-generated images. Alcon asserts that Tesla, Musk, and Warner Bros. proceeded to use the imagery despite being denied permission, infringing on Alcon's copyrights.