OpenAI Sora App faces copyright lawsuit from Japan's CODA

A Japanese trade organization representing publishers, including Studio Ghibli, recently sent a letter to OpenAI urging the company to stop using their copyrighted content for training its AI models without permission.

Studio Ghibli, known for beloved films such as “Spirited Away” and “Grave of the Fireflies,” has been particularly affected by OpenAI’s generative AI products. Since the release of ChatGPT’s native image generator in March, users have become popular for creating variations of their selfies or pet photos in the style of Ghibli films. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman changed his profile picture on X to a “Ghiblified” version.

With the broader rollout of OpenAI’s Sora app and video generator, Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) has formally requested that OpenAI abstain from using its members’ content for machine learning without proper authorization.

OpenAI’s strategy for copyrighted material, characterized by seeking forgiveness rather than permission, has drawn criticism. This approach has facilitated the creation of deepfakes featuring copyrighted characters and deceased public figures, leading to objections from entities like Nintendo and the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who is particularly vulnerable to deepfakes on the Sora app.

OpenAI has the discretion to cooperate with these requests. However, if they decline, the affected parties have the option to pursue legal action, despite the current ambiguity in United States law regarding the use of copyrighted content for AI training.

There is little precedent thus far to guide judges on their interpretation of copyright law, which has not been updated since 1976. However, a recent ruling by U.S. federal judge William Alsup found that Anthropic did not violate the law by training its AI on copyrighted books — the company did get fined for pirating the books it used for training, though.

But Japan’s CODA asserts that this may be considered a copyright violation in Japan.

CODA believes that reproducing or generating similar works, such as those produced by Sora 2, during the machine learning process may constitute copyright infringement. CODA stated, “Under Japan’s copyright system, prior permission is generally required for the use of copyrighted works, and there is no system allowing one to avoid liability for infringement through subsequent objections.”

Hayao Miyazaki, a key creative figure at Studio Ghibli, has not directly addressed the increasing presence of AI-generated interpretations of his work. However, when he was shown an AI-generated 3D animation in 2016, he expressed strong disapproval, stating that he felt “utterly disgusted.”

“I can’t watch this stuff and find it interesting,” he remarked at the time. “I feel strongly that this is an insult to life itself.”