Disney's OpenAI Deal 'Appears to Sanction' AI Company's 'Theft of Our Work,' WGA Says
Variety • • general
Key Points:
- The Writers Guild of America (WGA) criticized Disney’s licensing deal with OpenAI, accusing it of enabling the AI company to "steal" creative work and expressing intentions to investigate the deal's terms to protect writers' interests.
- Disney’s three-year agreement allows OpenAI’s Sora to generate user-prompted videos featuring over 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters starting in early 2026, alongside Disney’s $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI.
- Disney clarified that the deal excludes talent likenesses or voices and prohibits OpenAI from using Disney intellectual property to train AI models, while OpenAI hailed the agreement as a landmark collaboration between AI and the creative industry.
- SAG-AFTRA stated it
