Disney and OpenAI reach three-year licensing agreement

Core Insights - Walt Disney Company and OpenAI have reached a landmark agreement to bring over 200 Disney characters to the OpenAI Sora platform, a short-form video platform that has gained significant popularity [1][2] - Disney will invest $1 billion in OpenAI as part of a three-year deal, which includes receiving warrants that could increase Disney's stake in OpenAI over time [4] - The deal allows for the creation of short user-prompted videos featuring Disney characters, which can also be used on Disney Plus, although these videos will not include the original voice actors [6] Disney's Strategic Moves - Disney's investment in OpenAI reflects its recognition of the importance of technology in the entertainment industry and a desire to remain competitive [5] - The agreement is seen as a way for Disney to leverage its extensive portfolio of characters, including iconic franchises like Marvel and Star Wars, for new content creation [7] Legal Actions - Concurrently, Disney has issued a cease and desist letter to Google regarding the unauthorized use of its characters on Google's short-form video platform, claiming copyright violations related to the training of generative AI models [8]