Disney Slaps Google With Cease and Desist, Claiming ‘Massive’ AI Copyright Violations

While Disney signs a Billion dollar deal With OpenAI to license its characters for AI videos, the entertainment giant is also taking on Google. Disney sent Google a cease and desist letter on Wednesday, alleging that Google’s AI models infringe on its copyright protections on a “massive scale.”

“Google’s AI services are designed to take advantage of Disney’s intellectual property for free. Google has refused to implement technological measures to mitigate or prevent copyright violations, even though such measures are readily available and used by Google’s competitors,” the letter read. “Instead, Google continues to directly exploit Disney’s copyrights for commercial purposes.”

Google has released a major overhaul of its AI products with Gemini 3, which includes the second generation of its popular nano banana pro AI image model. There has been a massive increase in the popularity and capability of AI creative tools this year. The new models offer users the ability to create ultra-realistic AI images and videos. This capability has long been a concern for copyright and intellectual property owners, and improvements to AI models this year have brought these concerns into sharper relief. Disney, one of the largest owners of intellectual property, has become central to these legal and ethical debates.

The letter highlights Disney’s concerns that Google is using its market-leading position to create and distribute AI content. As YouTube’s parent company, Google is “flooding the market with infringing works and reaping enormous profits and other value through its illegal, harmful and damaging exploitation of Disney’s copyrighted works,” the letter states.

Disney says it brought its concerns to Google’s attention months ago, but the tech company did nothing in response, leading to the cease and desist letter this week. A Google spokesperson said in a statement: “We have a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with Disney, and we will continue to collaborate with them.” They added that Google uses data from the open web to create the AI ​​and has copyright controls on Google and YouTube.

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Disney, alongside Universal and Warner Bros.had already initiated proceedings against Mid-term AI on similar infringement issues, calling the AI ​​company a “bottomless pit of plagiarism.” Disney’s complaint in the new cease-and-desist letter addresses the same issue, that Google AI users can use its models to create content too similar to its copyrighted characters like Darth Vader. But while Disney is taking legal action against Google, it has also explored licensing opportunities with other AI companies like OpenAI.

On Thursday, Disney announced that it had signed a Billion dollar deal with OpenAI, one of Google’s biggest competitors. The deal gives OpenAI permission to use more than 200 iconic Disney characters in AI images and Sora videos, including those from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. The deal makes Disney a “major customer” of OpenAI, bringing ChatGPT to Disney employees and some Sora AI videos to Disney Plus. This is a markedly different approach from previous AI-related legal actions taken by Disney.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, parent company of CNET, filed a lawsuit in April against OpenAI, alleging that it violated Ziff Davis’ copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.)

To learn more, see the new price for Disney Plus, Hulu Live and ESPN and our guide to understanding copyright and AI.