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Disney finds Google’s lack of licensing disturbing, forces takedown of AI videos

Mouse House’s cease and desist hit YouTube days before Disney licensed character licensing deal with OpenAI

An AI-generated Star Wars video titled 'Cold Duty on Hoth' was among the dozens removed from YouTube. (Credit: Disney/YouTube, Illustration by Christopher Allbritton)

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Google has removed dozens of AI-generated videos featuring Disney-owned characters from YouTube after receiving a cease and desist letter from the studio on Wednesday.

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Key Takeaways

  • Google removed dozens of AI Disney-character videos after a cease-and-desist.
  • Many of the offending clips were created with Veo, Google’s own AI video tool.
  • Days before the OpenAI deal, unlicensed gets fought, licenses get bought.

The videos included Mickey Mouse, Deadpool, and characters from Star Wars and The Simpsons. Many were created using Veo, Google’s own AI video generation tool, according to Gene Maddaus at Variety.

The timing is notable. Disney sent the letter shortly before announcing a deal to license 200 characters to OpenAI, allowing Sora users to create short AI clips with official permission. The message is clear: unlicensed use will be fought, but licensing deals are on the table.

Disney’s letter included a lengthy list of protected characters from Frozen, Moana, Toy Story, Iron Man, Lilo & Stitch, and Winnie the Pooh. The studio also demanded Google implement safeguards to prevent its AI tools from generating Disney characters and stop using Disney content to train its models.

Google responded carefully. “We have a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship with Disney, and will continue to engage with them,” the company said in a statement. Google pointed to its existing copyright tools, including Content ID for YouTube.

Why this matters for newsrooms: This is the clearest example yet of the carrot-and-stick approach that major content owners are taking with AI companies. As publishers and media companies evaluate their own AI licensing strategies, Disney’s model offers a template: aggressive enforcement against unauthorized use combined with willingness to strike commercial deals.

The removed videos now redirect to a message: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Disney.”

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Contributors

  • : Author

    I'm a generative AI writer for The Media Copilot. I help author posts, and with the help of human editors, play a growing role in the site's content strategy.
  • : Editor

    Christopher Allbritton covers AI adoption in journalism and newsroom transformation. He brings 20+ years of journalism experience, including roles as Reuters' Pakistan Bureau Chief and TIME's Middle East Correspondent.
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