In an interesting variation on the usual “stop stealing our stuff” lawsuits that have already been deployed dozens of times against AI companies, a more subtle form of theft charge is being filed today. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Blade Runner 2049 production company Alcon Entertainment is suing Tesla, Elon Musk, and Warner Bros. Digital for intentional circumvention of intellectual property rights. Ta.
Musk had asked Tesla to use images from the movie to promote its latest futuristic concept car at its unveiling on the grounds of Warner Studios. Since Alcon did not agree to provide the rights through Warner, the lawsuit alleges that Tesla used the image as raw material and reproduced it using an AI model at Musk's direction. Then, as seen above, he showed this fake Blade Runner image while talking about the movie itself.
In addition to unspecified damages, the lawsuit also proposes that Tesla be barred from distributing the disputed promotional materials in the future.