Disney attacks Google with injunction, alleging ‘massive’ copyright infringement

Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google on Wednesday, accusing the tech giant of infringing its copyright, Variety reported.

Disney is accusing the tech giant of “massive” copyright infringement for using AI models and services to commercially distribute unauthorized images and videos, according to a letter obtained by Variety.

“Google operates as a virtual vending machine, able to reproduce, render, and distribute copies of Disney’s valuable library of copyrighted characters and other works at scale,” the letter said. “And, fueling Google’s blatant infringement, many of the infringing images generated by Google’s AI services are marked with Google’s Gemini logo, falsely implying that Google’s use of Disney’s intellectual property is authorized and approved by Disney.”

The letter alleges that Google’s AI systems are infringing on characters such as “Frozen,” “The Lion King,” “Moana,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Deadpool.”

Google did not confirm or deny Disney’s claims, but said it would “engage” with the company. “We have had a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with Disney and will continue to do so. More generally, we have built AI using public data from the open web and built additional innovative rights management features, such as Google extensions and YouTube’s Content ID, that give sites and copyright owners control over their content,” the spokesperson said.

Disney’s move comes on the same day it signed a $1 billion, three-year deal with OpenAI to bring the company’s iconic characters to its Sora AI video generator.