What to know

  • Disney's three-year licensing contract with OpenAI has only one year of exclusivity.
  • OpenAI gets access to over 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars for Sora.
  • After year one, Disney can partner with other AI firms.
  • Disney sent a cease-and-desist to Google over copyright issues the same day.

The entertainment giant has signed a three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI, allowing Sora’s video generation tools to tap into over 200 Disney-owned properties. As a result, users will be able to generate AI content featuring some of the world’s most familiar characters, including Mickey Mouse, Woody, Spider-Man, and figures from the Star Wars universe.

What stands out isn’t just the size of Disney’s IP, but how carefully the deal is set up. While it runs for three years, exclusivity lasts only one, giving Disney room to explore other AI partnerships as things evolve.

Speaking on CNBC, CEO Bob Iger described the deal as a trial rather than a long-term bet. He said technology has always kept moving, and Disney doesn’t plan to go against the flow. Instead, the company wants to take a step back, test how generative AI fits with its IP on a smaller scale, and then decide where to go from there.

Disney’s caution shows up in what it’s doing outside this partnership as well. Around the time the OpenAI deal became public, the company reportedly sent a cease-and-desist notice to Google over possible copyright concerns. Google hasn’t confirmed the claims but said it will engage with Disney, showing that even as Disney experiments with AI, it remains protective of its intellectual property.

Overall, Disney is taking a cautious approach, testing AI’s potential while staying protective of its characters. Short exclusivity gives it the freedom to change course as the technology evolves, a path other studios may follow too.