Disney has accused Google of engaging in widespread copyright infringement, alleging that Google’s AI models have produced content resembling characters from popular franchises like Frozen, Deadpool, and Star Wars. In response, Disney has issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding Google to halt the alleged infringement of its copyrighted works.
The accusation comes shortly before Disney’s billion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, enabling Sora AI users to create videos featuring over 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. These AI-generated videos are set to be featured on Disney Plus, as announced by CEO Bob Iger.
According to reports, Disney’s cease and desist notice specifically targets Google’s Gemini, Veo, Imagen, and Nano Banana AI models, accusing Google of saturating the market with infringing content and profiting significantly from these actions. Despite Disney’s attempts to address the issue with Google over several months, the tech giant allegedly failed to implement safeguards against copyright infringement.
Disney had previously raised concerns about potential copyright infringement with Character.AI, leading to the removal of Disney characters from the platform. Additionally, Disney is currently engaged in a legal battle with the AI text-to-image generator Midjourney for allegedly replicating its iconic characters.
Disney’s letter to Google, as reported by Variety, states, “Google is infringing Disney’s copyrights on a massive scale, by copying a large corpus of Disney’s copyrighted works without authorization to train and develop generative artificial intelligence (‘AI’) models and services.” Google has not yet responded to requests for comment from media outlets.
Source: The Verge
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