Motion Picture Association Says OpenAI Must Prevent Copyright Infringment on Sora 2
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has called on OpenAI to address what it describes as widespread copyright infringement stemming from the company’s new video generation model, Sora 2.
In a statement this week, MPA CEO Charles Rivkin says that “since Sora 2’s release, videos that infringe our members’ films, shows, and characters have proliferated on OpenAI’s service and across social media.” The group is urging OpenAI to “take immediate and decisive action” to curb the issue.
Sora 2, launched last week, allows users to create short video clips from text prompts. Following its rollout, social media has been flooded with AI-generated videos depicting recognizable characters from major franchises. CNBC reports that examples include clips of James Bond playing poker with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and body camera footage featuring Mario, the Nintendo mascot, evading the police.
OpenAI has acknowledged the concerns. In a blog post, Altman said the company plans to provide rightsholders with “more granular control” over how their intellectual property is used within Sora. He also announced a shift from an opt-out system — where studios had to request their characters not be used — to an opt-in model requiring explicit permission before copyrighted characters can appear.
Still, Altman cautioned that the system may not be flawless. “There may be some edge cases of generations that get through that shouldn’t, and getting our stack to work well will take some iteration,” he writes.
Rivkin, however, emphasizes that OpenAI must take primary responsibility for policing content on its platform. He says OpenAI “must acknowledge it remains their responsibility — not rightsholders — to prevent infringement on the Sora 2 service,” adding that “well-established copyright law safeguards the rights of creators and applies here.”
OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment by CNBC.
Zelda Williams, daughter of the late actor and comedian Robin Williams, this week condemned the use of artificial intelligence to create digital recreations of her father. Calling the video creations a “Frankensteinian monster, cobbled together from the worst bits of everything this industry is.”
It remains to be seen how rightsholders will responds to Sora 2. It took a long time for Disney to launch a lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney.
