Although the agreement was still open to further negotiation, corporate and board approvals, and deal closure, when it was announced, The Walt Disney Company’s three-year licensing agreement will permit OpenAI’s generative AI platforms to “draw from a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, including costumes, props, vehicles, and iconic environments.
“Sora and ChatGPT Images are expected to start generating fan-inspired videos with Disney’s multi-brand licensed characters in early 2026,” said Disney and OpenAI in a prepared statement.
“In addition, ChatGPT Images will be able to turn a few words by the user into fully generated images in seconds, drawing from the same intellectual property. The agreement does not include any talent likenesses or voices,” they said.
OpenAI’s Sora platform will be used to generate short, user-prompted social videos that can be viewed and shared by fans, drawing. In exchange, Disney will use OpenAI’s APIs and enable its employees to use its generative tool-set in the creative process.
What they said
“Technological innovation has continually shaped the evolution of entertainment, bringing with it new ways to create and share great stories with the world,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works. Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.”
“Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we’re excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content,” added Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. “This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences.”
What it doesn’t include
The agreement does not include license to use any talent likenesses or voices, most likely because that would require separate agreements with actors and voice talent (or with their agencies). Variety reports that the agreement also “does not allow OpenAI to use Disney intellectual property in the of its AI models.”
Furthering the trend toward responsibility
“As part of the agreement, OpenAI has committed to continuing its industry leadership in implementing responsible measures to further address trust and safety, including age-appropriate policies and other reasonable controls across the service, said the joint statement by Disney and OpenAI.
“OpenAI and Disney have affirmed a shared commitment to maintaining robust controls to prevent the generation of illegal or harmful content, to respect the rights of content owners in relation to the outputs of models, and to respect the rights of individuals to appropriately control the use of their voice and likeness,” they said.
Why it matters
The implications for piracy control are obvious. The companies were explicit in their claims of corporate responsibility, and as “early movers,” are likely to set the bar for other similar agreements between the media & entertainment and generative AI platform industries.
The Disney-OpenAI agreement echoes agreements made earlier in 2025 between The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other journalistic organizations, with generative AI platform providers. But the Disney-OpenAI agreement appears to go much deeper and wide-ranging.
It’s easier and less expensive for parties such as these to build a relationship proactively, and Piracy Monitor recalls a comment heard in the hallways: “the Mouse has fangs.”
To that point, Disney and other studios have running lawsuits against multiple generative AI companies; including separate lawsuits against Midjourney by Disney (et al) and Warner Bros. Discovery; which are likely to become very expensive. Also, Variety reports that, just this week, Disney sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter to Google for copyright infringement “on a massive scale.”
Although there was no mention in the news releases, it is Piracy Monitor’s opinion that the content assigned to this relationship may be within a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) application. Most AI platform providers have policies and protections for RAG applications that enable rights-holders (and enterprise accounts) to shield their private content and communications from use by their public-facing platforms; to help ensure that it is used in its intended ways.
Further reading
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach landmark Agreement to bring beloved characters from across Disney’s brands to Sora. Press release. December 11, 2025. The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach landmark Agreement to bring beloved characters from across Disney’s brands to Sora. Press release. December 11, 2025. OpenAI
Note: These two press releases are identical
Disney accuses Google of using AI to engage in copyright infringement on a ‘massive scale.’ Article. December 11, 2025. by Todd Spangler. Variety
