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Unions Challenge Disney’s $1B OpenAI Character Deal

12/12/2025

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Story summary
  • The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA have raised concerns about Disney's licensing deal with OpenAI, which permits the use of over 200 Disney characters for video generation.
  • WGA argues that this deal legitimizes the alleged theft of writers' work and plans to meet with Disney to discuss its implications.
  • Disney's agreement excludes live-action character likenesses and prohibits using Disney intellectual property for AI training.
  • Both unions commended Disney's cease-and-desist letter to Google for copyright infringement.
  • Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI as part of this three-year agreement.