Overview
- Disney sent Google a cease-and-desist alleging “massive” copyright infringement and citing Veo, Imagen, Nano Banana, Gemini and YouTube; trade outlets report dozens of AI videos were removed.
- Disney’s three-year, $1 billion agreement with OpenAI allows Sora to generate short videos using more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters, with select user clips to be curated on Disney+ from early 2026.
- The licensing explicitly excludes actors’ likenesses and voices, though users will be able to place themselves alongside licensed characters in generated videos.
- Disturbing Sora clips using Disney-style aesthetics—covering tragedies and racist or ableist themes—are already circulating, highlighting urgent moderation and brand-protection challenges.
- The Writers Guild of America condemned the pact as endorsing theft of writers’ work, and SAG-AFTRA said it will closely monitor implementation for compliance with performer protections.