OpenAI has revised its copyright policy for Sora, its AI video generation model, following concerns about potential intellectual property violations, with CEO Sam Altman announcing a new opt-in approach for copyright holders on October 3.
The policy change comes after numerous Sora-generated videos featuring characters from Japanese game and anime studios circulated online last week. These studios include Nintendo, Pokémon, One Piece, Demon Slayer, and Studio Ghibli. A notable example was a ten-second, photo-realistic video depicting Altman surrounded by Pokémon, with him saying, “I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us.”
Altman stated that OpenAI will provide rightsholders with “more granular control over generation of characters,” similar to existing likeness opt-in models. The new policy will require copyright owners to explicitly permit the use of their intellectual property in Sora-generated content.
Interestingly, the model appeared to handle different regional intellectual properties differently. While Sora readily generated videos with Japanese characters, it seemed to restrict prompts involving American intellectual properties like Marvel and Disney.
Japanese lawyer and House of Representatives member Akihisa Shiozaki highlighted the potential legal and political implications, calling for immediate action to protect Japanese creators and the domestic content industry.
OpenAI acknowledged the “remarkable creative output of Japan” and expressed awareness of the deep connection between users and Japanese content, signaling a nuanced approach to managing copyright concerns in AI-generated media.
