OpenAI’s new video tool Sora 2 has triggered a sharp response from Hollywood. Studios and talent agency CAA say the app threatens their copyrighted characters and content. The tool allows users to make short videos from simple text prompts, including clips that feature recognizable properties.
Studios Sound the Alarm
According to Deadline, CAA released a statement calling Sora 2 a significant risk to clients and their intellectual property. The Motion Picture Association’s Charles Rivkin said OpenAI must prevent infringement on the service. He noted that copyright law protects creators and applies to this situation.
Disney, Warner Bros., and NBCUniversal opted out from the start. These three studios have also filed lawsuits against AI firm Midjourney over unauthorized use of protected characters. Last week, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Character.ai for allowing users to copy Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and other original characters.
Shift from Opt-Out to Opt-In
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman changed the company’s approach after content creators objected. He said the company will give rightsholders more control over character generation. The new model requires creators to opt in rather than opt out. Altman also suggested revenue sharing with rightsholders but gave few details.
OpenAI generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, according to The Information. The company reached a valuation of $500 billion last week. Microsoft backs the firm, which gained wide use with its ChatGPT tool.
Legal and Political Landscape
No major studio has sued OpenAI yet. But three studios recently sued Chinese AI firm MiniMax for copyright infringement. The studios claim the firm willfully copied their protected content.
President Donald Trump has taken a hands-off approach to AI regulation. He said content creators cannot expect payment when their works train AI models. Trump fired the Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, who had offered a more nuanced view on the issue.
Courts will likely decide key questions about AI and copyright. A judge ruled this summer that AI company Anthropic did not violate copyright by feeding authors‘ books into training models. But the judge found potential liability where Anthropic accessed works through pirate sites. The company agreed to settle the case for $1.5 billion.
Hollywood insiders say studios remain cautious about technology that could reduce production costs but also enable unauthorized content. The industry faces a difficult balance between innovation and protecting established intellectual property rights.
