Disney may have signed a landmark $1 billion investment and licensing deal with OpenAI, but the entertainment giant is simultaneously accusing Google of copyright infringement on what it calls a “massive scale,” according to a report by Variety. Disney alleges that Google is using its AI models to “commercially exploit and distribute” copyrighted images and videos without permission.
The company has reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google demanding that the tech giant stop the alleged misuse of its intellectual property.
A letter from Disney’s lawyers to Google’s general counsel reportedly 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, and by using AI models and services to commercially exploit and distribute copies of its protected works to consumers in violation of Disney’s copyrights.”
The letter adds, “Google operates as a virtual vending machine, capable of reproducing, rendering, and distributing copies of Disney’s valuable library of copyrighted characters and other works on a mass scale. And compounding Google’s blatant infringement, many of the infringing images generated by Google’s AI Services are branded with Google’s Gemini logo, falsely implying that Google’s exploitation of Disney’s intellectual property is authorized and endorsed by Disney.”
Disney reportedly claims it has been raising concerns about protecting its IP with Google for months, but says the company has not taken adequate steps to address them.
The letter alleges that Google's AI systems have generated unauthorised images of well-known characters from Frozen, The Lion King, Moana, The Little Mermaid, Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy, Toy Story, Brave, Ratatouille, Monsters Inc., Lilo & Stitch, Inside Out, and major franchises including Star Wars, The Simpsons, Avengers, and Spider-Man.
This isn’t the first time Disney has pushed back against AI companies. It previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI and has also sued Midjourney for copyright infringement.
Disney characters coming to Sora
The accusations arrive just hours after Disney announced a landmark agreement with OpenAI, bringing more than 200 characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars into Sora and ChatGPT. Under the three-year deal, OpenAI users will be able to generate images and videos with Disney’s IP from early 2026, though voice and actor likeness rights are excluded.
Disney+ will also host a curated collection of Sora-generated videos, and the companies will collaborate on AI-powered features for the platform.
