‘Blade Runner 2049’ Producer Settles AI Lawsuit Against Warner Bros.

A production company for Blade Runner 2049 suing Tesla for using images from the movie to create artificial intelligence-generated promotional material has settled a related claim against Warner Bros. Discovery, which was accused of facilitating the copyright infringement.

The production company, Alcon Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Discovery told the court of a deal to resolve the case. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed. “Alcon and WBD have reached a settlement,” the filing said.

Alcon continues to pursue the lawsuit against Tesla and Elon Musk. Tesla’s partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to promote its robotaxi at a glitzy unveiling, which was done from a studio lot in 2024, sparked the case. At the presentation, Musk reached the stage in what he called a “cybercab” before showing an image of a male figure wearing a trench coat who’s surveying the abandoned ruins of a city bathed in a misty, orange light.

Alcon alleged that the image was intended to be understood as an actual still from Blade Runner 2049‘s sequence of Ryan Gosling’s character exploring a ruined Las Vegas. It said that it doesn’t want the movie to be affiliated with Musk because of his political and social views, pointing to ongoing efforts with potential partners for an upcoming TV series.

The production company brought claims against Warner Bros. Discovery for direct and contributory copyright infringement, which accounts for knowingly helping another party commit copyright infringement. The former claim was ultimately dismissed, with the court finding that the studio wasn’t responsible for overseeing Tesla’s work in relation to the presentation.

Lawyers for Alcon and Warner Bros. Discovery moved to dismiss claims against the studio in September. The companies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case raises the novel question of whether the creation of a visual by an AI image generator by copying a portion of a copyrighted work without a license constitutes copyright infringement. Tesla and Musk have argued that the practice constitutes fair use, the legal doctrine permitting the use of copyrighted works without a license. They’ve stressed that Musk utilized the image from Blade Runner 2049 to emphasize the value of autonomous vehicles by criticizing the “dark and dismal” dystopian future depicted in the promotional materials.

“I believe we want that duster he’s wearing, but not the, uh, not the bleak apocalypse,” Musk said at the presentation.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Alcon didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.