Google scraps AI videos of Disney characters after cease-and-desist letter: See all figures here

Following a cease-and-desist letter from the media and entertainment giant on Wednesday, Google has removed AI-generated videos of Disney characters.

Disney's legal warning specifically pointed to YouTube links to these videos, demanding their immediate deletion.

Which Disney characters' AI videos has Google removed?

The popular Disney characters whose AI videos Google has deleted include Mickey Mouse, Deadpool, and figures from “Star Wars” and “The Simpsons.” These were created using Google’s AI video tool, Veo.

While the links remained functional till Thursday, they are now reportedly redirecting users to a message stating, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Disney.”

The removal of widely famed Disney characters' AI videos comes shortly before Disney announced a licensing deal for 200 characters with OpenAI, allowing users of the Sora platform to create short AI clips.

The media juggernaut appears keen to prevent unwarranted AI usage of its characters.

Disney provided Google with a list of characters it wanted removed from YouTube and YouTube Shorts, including those from “Frozen,” “Moana,” “Toy Story,” and “Winnie the Pooh.”

According to an official statement, Google agreed to collaborate with Disney on the matter in question. “We have a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship with Disney and will continue to engage with them,” read Google's statement.

Can Google use Disney characters for AI training?

Disney also recommended that Google implement safeguards to prevent its AI tools from generating Disney characters and stop using these characters to train its AI models.