Legal challenges have emerged for Elon Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery as Alcon Entertainment, the producer of the 2017 science fiction film Blade Runner 2049, has filed a lawsuit accusing them of infringing on intellectual property rights.
The claims center around the alleged use of an AI-generated image resembling a scene from the movie during a Tesla event promoting their new fully autonomous taxi, the "Cybercab."
Filed on October 21 in a Los Angeles federal court, the lawsuit claims that Musk and Tesla initially sought permission to use a still from Blade Runner 2049 for their October 10 event held at the Warner Bros. studio lot. Alcon Entertainment denied this request.
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Although permission was denied, it is alleged that an AI-generated image resembling a scene of Ryan Gosling's character walking through a desolate landscape was still shown for about 11 seconds during Musk's presentation.
The lawsuit emphasizes that this unauthorized use constitutes economic theft, estimating the value of such brand affiliation to be at least six figures, potentially more. Alcon also expresses concern that the incident could interfere with ongoing negotiations for car brand partnerships related to an upcoming television adaptation of Blade Runner.
Furthermore, the producers highlight their unwillingness to be associated with Musk due to his highly publicized and polarizing behavior, which they describe as politically charged and occasionally bordering on hate speech. They assert that aligning their brand with Musk could damage their reputation and conflict with their core values.
Concluding the lawsuit, Alcon points out their intention to keep Blade Runner 2049 separate from Musk, Tesla, or any of his ventures, citing the potential risks and complications such an affiliation could entail.
In other news, during an Apple event on September 9, scammers flooded YouTube with live streams that featured AI-generated versions of Apple CEO Tim Cook.
