Federal Judge Allows 'Blade Runner' Lawsuit Against Tesla and Warner Bros. to Proceed, Limits Scope

A lawsuit by Blade Runner 2049 The production company Alcon Entertainment can pursue legal action against Tesla and Warner Bros. for using imagery from the movie in a promotion, according to a ruling by a federal judge.

However, the extent of the complaint was reduced following a decision made late Monday by Judge George Wu at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. (Read the ruling) HERE .) Wu supported the defendants by dismissing some of Alcon’s claims and directing that the more limited complaint proceed to mediation. The allegation of copyright infringement brought forth by Alcon remains unresolved. This claim originates from the utilization of imagery from the science fiction sequel featuring Ryan Gosling to develop AI tools used in producing content for Tesla.

Alcon sued Last October, following Tesla's "We Robot" event at the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank, the company insisted that both entities had disregarded their rejection of a request to include scenes from the movie.

Blade Runner 2049 The 2017 follow-up to the 1982 science fiction masterpiece was released under the distribution of Warner Bros.

Alcon asserts that it declined a request from the studio to utilize images from the movie. According to attorneys representing the company, executives were adamant about ensuring "no affiliation" whatsoever between the film and the Tesla CEO-led car manufacturer under any conditions. The core issue raised by the production house centered around Musk’s conduct, characterized as "heavily magnified, intensely politicized, unpredictable, and erratic," occasionally crossing over into what they deemed hateful rhetoric.

Even though the directive was clear, an 11-second slide surfaced during Tesla’s presentation. In this segment, Musk made specific references to the science fiction franchise through his narration.

As Wu pointed out in his decision, Tesla and Warner Bros. have maintained that Alcon cannot demonstrate significant similarities between their copyrighted material and the 'We Robot' presentation or the 11-second slide utilized within it.

Wu pointed out that the request for approval was submitted on the same day as the Tesla event, leaving Alcon with very limited time to react.

“Given the tight timeframe Musk and Tesla were working with in light of their last-minute request – and the resulting last-minute denial – to make use of BR2049 , it is not at all implausible for plaintiff to allege on information and belief that they made use of an AI image-generator to come up with the finished

Wu stated, "Moreover, the images aren’t sufficiently distinct for the court to determine that literal copying by Tesla and Musk was impossible as alleged. Therefore, all the specific counterarguments presented by Tesla and Musk concerning the 'direct copying' claim fall short."

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