Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Kelvin Chan at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article.
Disney announced a $1 billion investment in OpenAI and a three-year licensing deal to bring its iconic characters to the Sora video generation platform, while simultaneously sending Google a cease and desist letter over alleged copyright infringement of Disney content used to train AI models.
Some key facts:
• Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI as part of a strategic partnership.
• The Walt Disney Co. becomes the first major content licensing partner for OpenAI’s Sora video generation tool.
• The three-year licensing agreement includes more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars franchises.
• Fans will be able to use Sora to generate and share videos featuring characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, and Luke Skywalker.
• Select user-generated Sora videos will be made available on the Disney+ streaming service.
• Disney will become a major customer of OpenAI, using its technology to build new products and rolling out ChatGPT for employees.
• Disney sent Google a cease and desist letter on Dec. 10, accusing the tech company of copyright infringement on a massive scale.
• Disney claims Google used its content without permission to train AI models, including Veo video generator and Imagen and Nano Banana image generators.
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
