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 “Frozen” and Yoda from “Star Wars” in OpenAI’s text to video tool Sora. Disney has also agreed to invest $1 billion in the San Francisco AI startup.
The deal marks a significant step in Hollywood, as a major studio is partnering with one of the most valuable AI companies 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.
“The 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,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.
Artificial intelligence has been a controversial topic in Hollywood, as creative talent have raised concerns about AI companies taking their work or likenesses without their permission and not compensating them enough. In 2023, actors and writers went on strike to gain more AI protections in their contracts with major studios. There have also been questions raised about what would be the appropriate compensation for intellectual property that could be used to train AI tools.
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, 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 alleging that its image generator infringed on its copyrighted characters from franchises such as “Star Wars” and “Despicable Me.” Warner Bros. Pictures later joined the lawsuit.
This week, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, alleging copyright infringement of the company’s characters from the tech behemoth’s AI tools.
Some entertainment companies, including Lionsgate and AMC Networks, have partnered with AI companies, to help create more efficiency in areas such as marketing, preproduction and visual effects work. Some creatives have also praised AI tools, saying it has helped them test bold ideas when they are dealing with smaller budgets.
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 from talent agencies, the Motion Picture Assn. and estates of dead influential figures who raised concerns that likenesses of characters and people were used without their permission.
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’t follow its updated policy. Rights holders can also request removal of content.
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 that they believe are stealing writers’ work without permission to train AI models and not compensating them.
“Companies 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,” WGA West and East leadership said in a note to members. “Disney’s cease and desist letter to Google recognizes this and we will continue to pressure the companies to take action. At the same time, Disney’s 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.”
OpenAI has said it builds its model on publicly available data that it believes are protected by fair use and related principles.
“We view this principle as fair to creators, necessary for innovators, and critical for US competitiveness,” OpenAI has told The Times.
Having the backing of a company like Disney will likely help boost OpenAI’s reputation in the industry. The licensing deal includes classic Disney princesses like Cinderella and Ariel, as well as characters from the worlds from such films as “Monsters Inc.,” “Toy Story” as well as Marvel and Lucasfilm franchises like Black Panther and Stormtroopers.
Disney will also become a customer of OpenAI using its tools to build products, and experiences in areas such as Disney+. Disney employees will also have access to ChatGPT, according to a post on OpenAI’s website.
In addition to making a $1-billion equity investment in OpenAI, Disney will also have warrants to purchase more equity.
“Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we’re excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content,” said OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman in a statement. “This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences.”
OpenAI in its post on its website said the transaction is subject to corporate and board approvals and negotiation of definitive agreements.
Roma Murphy, a writer, co-chair of the Animation Guild’s AI committee and a member of its executive board, said she would like to see animators receive compensation in AI licensing deals.”Unfortunately, the studios have not given us any indication that they’re planning on coming up with some sort of licensing compensation model, so it’s tricky to figure out,” she said.
Performers guild SAG-AFTRA in a statement said it will “closely monitor the deal and its implementation to ensure compliance with our contracts and with applicable laws protecting image, voice, and likeness.”
Some people in the entertainment industry said the deal could make things worse in an already challenged economic environment for creators.
“Let’s be clear about what this means for creators and consumers: This could be the start of a slippery slope where this becomes a zero-cost content pipeline for Disney+, a paid subscription service,” said John Attanasio, CEO of animation studio Toonstar in a statement. “By enabling user-generated content through OpenAI tools, they’ve created a system where fans produce free content that Disney can control, monetize, and own. Meanwhile, the industry’s real problems remain unsolved. Talented creators still can’t get original projects greenlit through traditional channels.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: latimes.com
