Disney will invest $US1 billion (AU$1.5 billion) in OpenAI.
The deal means Sora and ChatGPT users will have access to more than 200 usually-restricted Disney characters.
The Hollywood writers’ union has described the deal as allowing “theft of our work”.
Here’s what you need to know.
Details
In a shared statement released on Thursday (local time), the companies said the three-year deal covers intellectual property (IP) from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.
This includes “animated, masked and creature characters,” as well as environments, costumes, and props.
They said the agreement does not cover “talent likenesses or voices.”
Disney will become “a major customer of OpenAI,” using the platform to “build new products” and providing ChatGPT to employees.
OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman said the agreement “shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society”.
Disney’s $US1 billion investment represents a 0.2% stake in OpenAI, which was valued at $500 billion at the end of October. Microsoft holds 27% of the company.
Copyright
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Disney has historically been strict about the use of its copyrighted characters.
Many U.S. legal experts say Disney’s lobbying for stricter protections influenced copyright legislation.
In June, Disney and Universal sued AI image generator Midjourney for “copy[ing]” their “famous characters,” calling the platform “a bottomless pit of plagiarism.”
Google case
This week, U.S. media outlets reported that Disney sent Google a cease-and-desist for using its work to “train and develop generative AI models”.
Reportedly, Disney alleges that Google has used characters from movies including Toy Story, Frozen, and franchises like the Simpsons, Star Wars and Marvel.
Speaking to CNBC, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company had been “aggressive at protecting our IP” and “felt we had no choice” but to pursue legal action.
Criticism
In an open letter, the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) said: “Companies including OpenAI have stolen vast libraries of works... to train their artificial intelligence systems.”
The group said it has “repeatedly called for the studios to take legal action to defend the valuable intellectual property we help to create.”
“Disney’s announcement with OpenAI appears to sanction its theft of our work,” it added.
