{"id":343933,"date":"2025-12-12T07:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T07:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/343933\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T07:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T07:28:08","slug":"disneys-openai-deal-appears-to-sanction-ai-companys-theft-of-our-work-wga-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/343933\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney’s OpenAI Deal ‘Appears to Sanction’ AI Company’s ‘Theft of Our Work,’ WGA Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe Writers Guild of America said Disney<\/a>\u2018s huge licensing deal with OpenAI<\/a> appears to \u201csanction\u201d the AI company\u2019s \u201ctheft of our work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDisney\u2019s announcement with OpenAI<\/a> 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 the union said in a message to members Thursday. WGA<\/a> said it will meet with Disney \u201cto probe the terms of this deal, including the extent to which user-generated videos use the work of WGA members. We will continue to fight to protect our members\u2019 creative and economic interests in the context of AI technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUnder Disney\u2019s three-year licensing agreement<\/a>, OpenAI\u2019s Sora will be able to generate user-prompted videos from a set of more than 200 masked, animated or creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. Sora and ChatGPT Images are expected to start generating \u201cfan-inspired\u201d videos with Disney\u2019s licensed characters in early 2026. In addition, as part of the deal, Disney will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to WGA\u2019s message to members, \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. We have repeatedly called for the studios to take legal action to defend the valuable intellectual property we help to create.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tDisney said the agreement with OpenAI does not include any talent likenesses or voices. It also does not allow OpenAI to use Disney intellectual property in the training of its AI models.<\/p>\n

\n\tAsked for comment about WGA\u2019s objection to the deal, an OpenAI rep said that \u201cthis is a landmark agreement because it shows how AI companies and the creative industry can work together to establish meaningful standards for responsible AI in entertainment.\u201d Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, on Wednesday,\u00a0Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google<\/a>, alleging Google\u2019s AI platforms have resulted in copyright infringement of Disney IP on a \u201cmassive scale.\u201d WGA applauded this move, saying Disney\u2019s cease-and-desist letter to Google recognizes the value of IP that writers help create \u201cand we will continue to pressure the companies to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSAG-AFTRA, the actor\u2019s union, issued a cautionary statement about the Disney-OpenAI deal, saying it will \u201cclosely monitor\u201d the situation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSAG-AFTRA will closely monitor the deal and its implementation to ensure compliance with our contracts and with applicable laws protecting image, voice and likeness,\u201d the union said. \u201cSAG-AFTRA members are very focused on the rapidly expanding use of intellectual property and individuals\u2019 likenesses and voices by generative AI tools, and SAG-AFTRA remains vigilant about any such uses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSAG-AFTRA continued, \u201cWe acknowledge Disney\u2019s and OpenAI\u2019s independent outreaches to us on this matter and their assurances that they will meet their contractual and legal obligations to performers and continue to implement systems to ensure ethical and responsible use of this technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe union said it has engaged in months of \u201cfrank discussions\u201d with OpenAI about the protection of performers. \u201cThe ongoing dialogue reflects a significant commitment to taking SAG-AFTRA members\u2019 concerns into account in the protective measures applied to image, likeness, voice, performance, and intellectual property rights generally,\u201d the union said.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, regarding Disney\u2019s legal threat to Google over AI, SAG-AFTRA said it \u201cjoin[s] in the objections raised in Disney\u2019s formal demand letter to Google, putting the company on notice that the mass infringement of copyrighted works must stop. We equally object to the abuse of performers\u2019 images, likenesses, and performances through its systems. Their output guardrails and technical protections are inadequate and must be significantly strengthened. \u2026 SAG-AFTRA expects Google and all AI providers to close these gaps and align their practices with both the law and the rights of performers and all creative talent. We know that they can, and we demand that they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDisney characters that will be available for AI-generated creations via the OpenAI pact include Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba and Mufasa, as well as characters from movies and franchises including \u201cEncanto,\u201d \u201cFrozen,\u201d \u201cInside Out,\u201d \u201cMoana,\u201d \u201cMonsters Inc.,\u201d \u201cToy Story,\u201d \u201cUp\u201d and \u201cZootopia.\u201d Also covered under the pact are animated and illustrated versions of Marvel and Lucasfilm characters like Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers and Yoda.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Disney+, users will be able to watch curated selections of Sora-generated videos. OpenAI and Disney also said they will collaborate to use OpenAI\u2019s models to \u201cpower new experiences for Disney+ subscribers, furthering innovative and creative ways to connect with Disney\u2019s stories and characters.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Writers Guild of America said Disney\u2018s huge licensing deal with OpenAI appears to \u201csanction\u201d the AI company\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[3716,88,1283,18220],"class_list":{"0":"post-343933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-disney","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-openai","11":"tag-wga"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}