Disney allowed neural networks to use their characters. Why is this important?
Users will be able to create cartoons with Disney characters. The three-year agreement signed between Disney and Open AI will provide the Sora platform with access to popular hand-drawn characters, and animators will be able to use AI tools to create animations. What this means and why the deal looks more like a capitulation by Disney is in the Izvestia article.
Why did Disney make the deal
• The deal between Disney and Open AI has become Hollywood's largest investment in an artificial intelligence model company. According to the terms, Disney will buy out a $1 billion stake in the startup, and the Sora platform (an AI model designed to generate videos based on short text descriptions) and ChatGPT, developed by Open AI, will have access to more than 200 characters, including characters from Pixar, Marvel, and the Star Wars franchises. The corporation said that users of the platform will be able to generate videos with popular characters — this will be a gift to viewers to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
• Disney is very jealous of its licensing rights and trademarks, and such an unprecedented decision is probably dictated by the fact that content authors are tired of fighting neural networks. Disney has been defending its copyrights to the characters in court for several years. Recent lawsuits include lawsuits against Midjourney and Google, which have not paid compensation for using content for training and developing generative AI.
What will Disney get in return
• The Disney Corporation has tried to protect itself as much as possible from possible lawsuits from acting guilds: platforms will receive the right only to use hand-drawn characters, costumes, props, transport and locations. The license agreement does not include images and voices of actors, and Disney animators do not own copyrights to the characters. The company also included in the agreement a ban on depicting cartoon characters in inappropriate conditions.
• Negotiations with the Disney startup began several years ago, and Open AI provided the corporation with preliminary access to the Sora platform. The studio intends to use neural networks to create new products and improve work both with subscribers and within the company. Earlier, Disney also signed a deal with Epic Games, which will allow cartoon characters to appear in the Fortnite game.
• Disney expects that the agreement will allow users to generate videos on the Disney streaming platform and provide additional audience growth at the expense of consumers of short video content. A report published in November showed that the corporation's revenue was lower than last year, and the entertainment division's revenue decreased by 6% due to the closure of streaming services on Google and YouTube.
Why is Open AI necessary?
• Although the field of artificial intelligence is not yet fully regulated, accusations of copyright infringement by AI models force startups to look for the possibility of legally using content to train neural networks. In November 2025, a court in Munich found for the first time in Europe that Open AI had infringed copyrights in the training of AI models. The startup failed to shift responsibility onto users: The court ruled that user instructions for neural networks trigger processes that were originally built into the model by the developers.
• The intention of legislators in Europe and the United States to regulate this area creates a risk that the images available for training will soon run out. Prior to signing the deal with Disney, Open AI had been in talks with Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. for several months. Discovery Inc., but the studios refused due to the expected dissatisfaction of the unions. The deal with Disney may become a precedent that will encourage other players in the film industry to cooperate.
• Some experts believe that the use of AI platforms will become paid in the future. But so far, with the help of such deals, development companies are simply attracting investments in their projects, and this will not immediately lead to an increase in fees for the operation of generative AI models for end users.
What does this mean for the industry
• Trade unions have already opposed the deal: the Screenwriters Guild has stated that AI companies are stealing intellectual labor products, and the deal with Disney will allow this process to be legalized. There are also concerns that as a result of such cooperation with AI models, the cost of work for animation artists will drop significantly, and jobs will be reduced.
• There are different opinions in the specialized groups of multipliers on social networks. Some believe that the availability of AI tools can lead to widespread adoption of generated animation and a drop in animation quality. Others doubt that this is possible, because to create a high-quality request for video generation, you will need the knowledge and skills of a cartoonist, so AI models can change the format of an animator's work, but not completely replace it.
Why is this important?
The scope of neural networks is developing so fast that legislators around the world cannot keep up with it. Europe is following the path of strict restrictions on the use of neural networks, which threatens business development, while the United States prohibits states from independently enacting laws on AI security and is preparing to create a single national regulatory mechanism for this area. In an environment where there are no clear rules for learning and applying generative AI models, a conflict of interest between content creators and AI developers is inevitable. The deal between Disney and Open AI is rather an attempt to settle the sensitive area of copyright and establish at least some rules for working with artificial intelligence until they are lowered "from above".
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