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OpenAI's Video Generator Stirs Copyright Clash with Hollywood
1 Oct
Summary
- OpenAI's new video generator Sora allows users to create content using copyrighted characters and materials
- FilmLA CEO to retire as permit office grapples with production exodus
- OpenAI's approach to intellectual property rights escalates legal tensions with Hollywood studios
As of October 1st, 2025, OpenAI's new video generator, Sora, has sparked a copyright clash with Hollywood. The latest version of Sora allows users to create content featuring intellectual property owned by studios across the entertainment industry, a significant escalation of the AI company's encroachment onto the industry.
Sora returns copyrighted characters and materials from major TV shows and movies, including Rick and Morty, South Park, and Dune. OpenAI expected users to generate videos of studio-owned intellectual property, though it blocks content that uses the likenesses of actors and other recognizable faces. Copyright owners must opt out of having their content appear, and talks are underway between OpenAI and rights holders.
The opt-out process has escalated OpenAI's cavalier approach to intellectual property rights, potentially setting up a legal battle between Hollywood's biggest studios and the AI startup. This is part of a larger shift relating to the erosion of the protections that copyright owners typically wield over their works.
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Amid this copyright clash, the CEO of FilmLA, the permit office that oversees production in Los Angeles, is set to retire. The permit office has been grappling with a production exodus, as the industry navigates the challenges posed by the rise of AI-generated content.
