OpenAI said Thursday it reached a licensing deal with the Walt Disney Co. to use more than 200 popular Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, characters from \u201cFrozen\u201d and Yoda from \u201cStar Wars\u201d in OpenAI\u2019s text to video tool Sora. Disney has also agreed to invest $1 billion in the San Francisco AI startup. <\/p>\n
The deal marks a significant step in Hollywood, as a major studio is partnering with one of the most valuable AI companies<\/a> in a three-year licensing deal that will bring iconic characters to an AI-powered platform. Under the deal, users early next year can generate prompts on Sora to create short videos that feature the Disney characters and use ChatGPT Images to create images of the characters in seconds. Some of the Sora-generated videos will be shown on Disney+. The companies said the agreement does not include talent likenesses or voices. <\/p>\n \u201cThe rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works,\u201d Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence has been a controversial topic in Hollywood, as creative talent have raised concerns<\/a> about AI companies taking their work or likenesses without their permission and not compensating them enough. In 2023, actors <\/a>and writers went on strike to gain more AI protections <\/a>in their contracts with major studios. There have also been questions raised about what would be the appropriate compensation<\/a> for intellectual property that could be used to train AI tools. <\/p>\n Disney has had a more contentious relationship with other AI companies. Earlier this year, the company sent a cease-and-desist letter to tech start-up Character.AI<\/a>, alleging that chatbots on the platform were impersonating well-known Disney characters and generated replies that simulated those known characters and incorporated their back stories. Disney and Universal Pictures have also sued AI company Midjourney<\/a> alleging that its image generator infringed on its copyrighted characters from franchises such as \u201cStar Wars\u201d and \u201cDespicable Me.\u201d Warner Bros. Pictures later joined the lawsuit.<\/p>\n This week, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, alleging copyright infringement of the company\u2019s characters from the tech behemoth\u2019s AI tools.<\/p>\n Some entertainment companies, including Lionsgate and AMC Networks, have partnered with AI companies, to help create more efficiency in areas such as marketing<\/a>, preproduction<\/a> and visual effects<\/a> work. Some creatives have also praised AI tools, saying it has helped them test bold ideas when they are dealing with smaller budgets. <\/p>\n But many in Hollywood have been skeptical over the way AI companies have approached the use of characters and dead celebrities in their tools. OpenAI launched its second version of its text-to-video tool Sora in September and received pushback<\/a> from talent agencies, the Motion Picture Assn. and estates of dead influential figures <\/a>who raised concerns that likenesses of characters and people were used without their permission. <\/p>\n In response, OpenAI said it would give more granular controls to rights holders and is working on a way to compensate them for video generation. OpenAI said it has guardrails to block the generation of well-known characters and a team of reviewers who are taking down material that doesn\u2019t follow its updated policy. Rights holders can also request removal of content.<\/p>\n On Thursday, leaders of the Writers Guild of America West and East sent a note to members saying they plan to meet with Disney to discuss the OpenAI deal. The union has asked studios to sue AI companies<\/a> that they believe are stealing writers\u2019 work without permission to train AI models and not compensating them.<\/p>\n \u201cCompanies including OpenAI have stolen vast libraries of works owned by the studios and created by WGA members and Hollywood labor to train their artificial intelligence systems,\u201d WGA West and East leadership said in a note to members. \u201cDisney\u2019s cease and desist letter to Google recognizes this and we will continue to pressure the companies to take action. At the same time, Disney\u2019s deal with OpenAI appears to sanction its theft of our work and cedes the value of what we create to a tech company that has built its business off our backs.\u201d<\/p>\n OpenAI has said it builds its model on publicly available data that it believes are protected by fair use and related principles.<\/p>\n