A federal judge has dismissed most copyright claims against Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery in a lawsuit over promotional materials from the movie Blade Runner 2049, but allowed some claims to proceed. The lawsuit alleged that Tesla used an artificial intelligence image generator to create unlicensed promotional materials.
The dispute began when Tesla partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to promote its robotaxi at a presentation event last year. Elon Musk showed an image of Ryan Gosling’s character from the movie Blade Runner 2049, sparking the lawsuit. A U.S. District Judge George Wu ruled that some claims were unfounded, citing that Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind the movie, had not proven trademark infringement.
The judge allowed copyright claims to proceed but dismissed those alleging trademark violations and contributory infringement. The ruling noted that Tesla and Musk are in a different line of business than the plaintiff, and therefore cannot be held responsible for overseeing Tesla’s work with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/blade-runner-2049-legal-battle-elon-musk-1236184878