Disney and OpenAI have made a surprise deal – what happens next?
In a stunning reversal, Disney has changed tack with regard to safeguarding its copyrighted characters from incorporation into AI tools – perhaps a sign that no one can stem the tide of AI
Disney’s famous Mickey Mouse character will soon be available for use in AI-generated videos
Greg Balfour Evans / Alamy
The world’s best-known AI company and the world’s best-known entertainment firm have come to a surprise agreement to allow AI versions of some of the most iconic characters in film and TV to be used in generative AI videos and images. The deal may be a sign that major copyright holders see no way to hold back the flood of AI tools on the market.
The Walt Disney Company has signed a deal with OpenAI that will allow the AI firm’s Sora video generation tool and ChatGPT image creator to use more than 200 of Disney’s most iconic characters.
Meanwhile, Disney remains in dispute with another AI firm, Midjourney, over alleged infringement of their intellectual property (IP), claiming Midjourney aims to “blatantly incorporate and copy Disney’s and Universal’s famous characters” into their image generating tool. The suit suggested copyright holders were starting to robustly defend their rights against AI firms – but some experts now believe this deal is a sign Disney believes if you can’t beat AI companies, you should join them.
The characters now deemed fair game for OpenAI users include the likes of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Simba and Mufasa from The Lion King, and Moana, as well as Marvel and Lucasfilm characters, including some of Star Wars’s most well-known names. While it will be possible for users to create videos of those characters, the rights to their voices – many of which come from celebrities, such as Tom Hanks in the case of Woody from Toy Story – won’t be permitted. Some of the characters that can now be used by OpenAI tools are the same ones Disney cited in its lawsuit against Midjourney.
Users will be able to create those images and videos starting in early 2026. The licencing agreement lasts three years.
According to a statement released by both companies, the deal was agreed after OpenAI committed to implementing age-appropriate policies and “reasonable controls” to prevent underage users from accessing their products, as well as “robust controls to prevent the generation of illegal or harmful content, to respect the rights of content owners in relation to the outputs of models, and to respect the rights of individuals to appropriately control the use of their voice and likeness”.