Earlier this month, OpenAI launched Sora 2, a text-to-video generating app designed to churn out AI-generated videos.
The app has become ground zero of copyright-infringing clips, from SpongeBob SquarePants taking a bong rip and sipping codeine to Scooby-Doo getting caught speeding on a highway.
OpenAI responded with some sloppily-implemented guardrails, which were initially met with exasperation — until, that is, mischief-makers realized they could easily be circumvented.
All that blatant disregard for copyright has seemingly put Hollywood agencies and studios on the back foot. Major talent agencies told the Hollywood Reporter that OpenAI had been “purposely misleading” them in behind-the-scenes communications.
According to THR‘s reporting, the company told some rightsholders that they’d have to opt out of having their work appearing on the app, while telling others the opposite.
In an October 3 blog post, CEO Sam Altman promised to “give rightsholders more granular control over generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls.”
But the damage was already done. Sora soared to the top of the App Store, a chart-topping launch facilitated by the promise of unfettered access to some of the most recognizable characters in media today.
Its initial messaging that talent agencies would have to individually notify OpenAI that their clients didn’t agree to have their likeness appear in the app was met with incredulity.
“It’s very likely that client would fire their agent,” a partner at WME, which represents actors such as Matthew McConaughey and Michael B Jordan, told THR. “None of us would make that call.”
The rampant reproduction of copyrighted material on Sora drew plenty of attention from Hollywood lobbying groups, with the Motion Picture Association blasting the company and calling for “immediate action.” LA-based talent and sports agency Creative Artists Agency also joined the chorus, calling Sora a “misuse” of emerging tech and “exploitation, not innovation.”
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