Universal adds "don't feed this to AI" warnings to all its recent movies

THR notes that the language—which also states “This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries” and “Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution”— differs a bit between countries, including citing, in relevant areas, a European Union law that specifically allows copyright holders to opt their work out of being used in “scientific research.” But the gist is pretty clear, as are the motives for including it: Universal is hunting for more ammo in its ongoing battles against AI companies like Midjourney, the “bottomless pit of plagiarism” it’s currently co-suing with Disney.

That suit is still pending (although other AI companies have recently won suits against book authors brought on similar grounds), so it’s a bit difficult to see how adding additional warnings now isn’t a bit like closing the barn door after the horse-with-a-distractingly-incorrect-number-of-legs has already bolted. Still, it’s hard to fault Universal for wanting to bulk up its legal arguments, given how existential these suits are going to be for creators trying to fend off the copying machines; adding a couple of sentences to the end of the movie feels like a pretty classic “no harm in trying” idea.