OpenAI's Sora: Bold Step in AI Content and Copyright Risks

Published Date : 4/10/2025 

OpenAI's new short-form video app, Sora, has users creating AI-generated clips of popular characters and brands. However, the app could face significant copyright lawsuits, experts warn. 

OpenAI, the renowned artificial intelligence company, recently launched a short-form video app called Sora. The app has quickly gained popularity, with users generating AI-created clips featuring well-known characters and brands. However, this innovative platform could soon face a wave of copyright lawsuits, experts predict.

A lot of the videos that people are going to generate of these cartoon characters are going to infringe copyright, Mark Lemley, a professor at Stanford Law School, told CNBC. OpenAI is opening itself up to quite a lot of copyright lawsuits by doing this.

Sora allows users to create short videos for free by simply typing in a prompt. The app is currently available only on iOS devices and is invite-based, meaning users need a code to access it. Since its launch, Sora has climbed to the top of Apple's App Store.

CNBC gained access to Sora and has viewed videos featuring characters from popular shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Rick and Morty, and South Park, as well as movies like Despicable Me. One video shows OpenAI CEO Sam Altman standing in a field with several Pokémon characters, where he humorously says, I hope Nintendo doesn't sue us. Another video features the fictional McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald fleeing from police in a car shaped like a burger.

CNBC was also able to generate several characters and logos independently, including Ronald McDonald, Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants, Pikachu from the Pokémon franchise, a Starbucks coffee cup, and characters from The Simpsons.

When contacted, McDonald's declined to comment. The other companies behind these characters and logos did not respond to CNBC's requests for comment.

People are eager to engage with their family and friends through their own imaginations, as well as stories, characters, and worlds they love, and we see new opportunities for creators to deepen their connection with the fans, Varun Shetty, OpenAI's head of media partnerships, told CNBC. We'll work with rights holders to block characters from Sora at their request and respond to takedown requests.

As AI startups have rapidly changed the way people can interact with content online, media companies and other brands have initiated a series of legal battles to protect their intellectual property. Disney and Universal have sued the AI image creator Midjourney, alleging that the company improperly used and distributed AI-generated characters from their movies. Disney also sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI, warning the startup to stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization.

Characters are copyrightable, meaning third parties can't use copyrighted or original characters without permission, and Sora is primed to be a fresh breeding ground for infringement disputes. If a company loses control over what their copyrighted characters do and say in user-generated videos, it's going to be a problem, Lemley said.

You can imagine why Taylor Swift wouldn't want — even if pornography is off the table — wouldn't want videos of her purporting to say things she doesn't say, he said. I think the same is going to be true of cartoon characters.

OpenAI said it respects takedown requests that are submitted through its Copyright Disputes form, which allows content owners to flag specific content. Users can also report videos for copyright infringement and trademark infringement directly through the app. The company said these actions provide granularity on a character-by-character basis and are different from a blanket opt-out.

OpenAI reportedly gave some talent agencies and studios the option to opt-out of Sora and exclude their copyrighted material ahead of the app's launch, according to the Wall Street Journal. That kind of an arrangement would be unusual, according to Jason Bloom, partner and chair of the intellectual property litigation practice group at the law firm Haynes Boone. Typically, third parties have to get explicit permission to use someone's work under copyright law.

You can't just post a notice to the public saying we're going to use everybody's works, unless you tell us not to, he said. That's not how copyright works.

OpenAI said it has taken steps to address potential safety concerns around the Sora app, including giving users explicit control over how their likeness is used on the platform. Users can choose to create a cameo of themselves that they can insert into videos, and they have direct control over who can access it. In practice, this means users can't generate videos of another person or public figure without that person's explicit permission.

In a blog post late Friday, Altman said similar, more granular controls are coming for rights holders. We assume different people will try very different approaches and will figure out what works for them, Altman wrote. But we want to apply the same standard towards everyone, and let rightsholders decide how to proceed (our aim of course is to make it so compelling that many people want to). 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is Sora, and how does it work?

A: Sora is a short-form video app launched by OpenAI that allows users to create AI-generated videos by typing in a prompt. The app is currently invite-based and available only on iOS devices.

Q: What are the potential copyright risks associated with Sora?

A: Sora users can generate videos featuring copyrighted characters and brands, which could lead to copyright infringement lawsuits. Experts warn that OpenAI is opening itself up to significant legal risks.

Q: How is OpenAI addressing these copyright concerns?

A: OpenAI has implemented a Copyright Disputes form and allows users to report videos for copyright and trademark infringement. They also give content owners the option to request the removal of specific characters from the app.

Q: What are some examples of AI-generated content on Sora?

A: Users have created videos featuring characters from popular shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Rick and Morty, and South Park, as well as movies like Despicable Me. Some videos even feature OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and fictional characters like Ronald McDonald.

Q: What is OpenAI's stance on protecting user-generated content?

A: OpenAI aims to provide users with explicit control over how their likeness is used on the platform. They also plan to introduce more granular controls for rights holders to manage their content. 

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