- The release of Sora 2 prompted a Hollywood agency to publicly condemn AI video creator OpenAI.
- The agency warned that “Sora 2” poses a serious threat to image rights and performers' compensation.
- OpenAI has begun adjusting Sora 2 parameters and hints at future restrictions and revenue distribution
New AI video generator Sora 2 from OpenAI and immediately popular new social app has been around for a few days now, but the company is already facing backlash from some of Hollywood's most powerful people. Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents some of the biggest names in entertainment, issued a strongly worded statement condemning Sora 2.
In an unsigned memo, the CAA accused OpenAI of ignoring the rights of its customers and called the issue a moral test. The Cameo feature, which allows users to appear in their own AI-generated videos, has drawn particular outrage, although not by name.
“It is clear that Open AI/Sora exposes our customers and their intellectual property to significant risk. The question is: Do OpenAI and its partner companies believe that people, writers, artists, actors, directors, producers, musicians and athletes deserve rewards and praise for the work they create?” – the traffic police wrote in the memo. “Or does Open AI think it can simply steal it, ignoring global copyright principles and blatantly ignoring the rights of creators, as well as the many people and companies that fund the production, creation and publication of those people's work? In our opinion, the answer to this question is obvious.”
This is the most direct public confrontation between Hollywood talent and Silicon Valley AI experimenters. CAA's tone is clearly meant to sound intimidating. And this makes sense, since the Cameo feature shows how easy it is to imitate someone's appearance and voice with just a short sample clip. And then all it takes is one viral AI remix to turn from entertainment into copyright infringement.
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CAA is not alone in its position. Competing agencies VME and UTA issued their own statements with similar wording: WME advised OpenAI to remove all of its clients from Sora 2.
Launching Sora 2 is a familiar launch approach of making mistakes and then fixing them. The entertainment industry's approach is to cover all possible licensing, consent and credit issues long before a single frame of a film is shown. These two approaches clash.
And OpenAI takes this into account. CEO Sam Altman himself seems to admit that Sora 2 may have crossed a line. In a carefully worded blog post, he acknowledged potential problems and promised change, potential partnerships and monetization is ahead.
OpenAI appears keen to reassure the industry that Sora 2 will not make Brad Pitt a cameo on TikTok without permission. The company confirmed that Cameo must give public figures control over their appearance by requiring them to download Cameo and explicitly make it publicly available; otherwise the technology must reject attempts to do so by others. Unless you are a celebrity and have not handed over the digital keys yourself, Sora should not allow users to include you in their AI-generated videos.
For deceased public figures, their estates can request deletion, which OpenAI says will be complied with. However, it is unclear whether this will prevent lawsuits. The system relies heavily on individuals to set permissions. And for some, that's not enough. The Cinematographers Association stated bluntly: warned OpenAI said it is the AI company's responsibility to prevent copyright infringement.
Even with controls in place, there is ambiguity around doppelgängers and deepfakes, which are legally distinct but may seem too close for comfort. And skepticism has only grown in recent months as AI-generated videos of deceased celebrities such as Robin Williams and Gene Wilder have gone viral, often crossing emotional boundaries for both fans and their families.
Sora's apparent openness to inheritance requests is a gesture that compensates for this, but still leaves the door open for bad actors to not bother asking permission. fall out Addressing all of these issues will likely shape how future AI-powered consumer video tools work. The CAA memo indicates a willingness to enable AI-powered celebrity videos, subject to the correct regulations and compensation.
“Control, authorization and compensation are the fundamental rights of these workers,” the CAA wrote. “Anything less than protecting authors and their rights is unacceptable.”
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