Japanese entertainment giants accuse OpenAI’s Sora 2 of copyright infringement citing unauthorized use of IP as training data

Japan’s Overseas Distribution Association, CODA, has sent a formal demand to OpenAI to immediately cease the use of copyrighted property in training its AI-powered video generation tool, Sora 2.

CODA, founded in 2002 to fight piracy and boost Japanese entertainment’s global reach, called on Sam Altman’s OpenAI in a formal letter. The association consists of Japanese juggernauts such as Square Enix, Bandai Namco, FromSoftware’s parent company Kadokawa, Studio Ghibli, and Cygames.

Sora 2 was officially announced on September 30, followed by an invite-only iOS release on October 1. In its official letter to OpenAI, CODA didn’t mince its words, stating:

CODA has confirmed that a large portion of content produced by Sora 2 closely resembles Japanese content or images. CODA has determined that this is the result of using Japanese content as machine learning data

 In cases, as with Sora 2, where specific copyrighted works are reproduced or similarly generated as outputs, CODA considers that the act of replication during the machine learning process may constitute copyright infringement.

CODA further noted that OpenAI’s opt-out system, requiring creators to flag their intellectual property to avoid being used as training data, doesn’t cut it under Japanese law. Keeping in view of this, CODA further elaborated:

According to media reports, it has been stated that Sora 2 responds through an opt-out system based on requests from copyright holders. However, 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.

The trigger for this development was Sora’s uncanny ability to generate AI videos that eerily replicated Japanese media. What gained traction was a video of Sam Altman frolicking in a field with Pokémon characters with the caption, “I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us.” However, Nintendo isn’t a part of CODA.

CODA’s demands to OpenAI are pretty much straightforward. OpenAI needs to ensure that CODA association members’ intellectual property isn’t scraped without their permission. Otherwise, Sam Altman might have to endure some legal headaches.

CODA demands that OpenAI “responds sincerely to claims and inquiries from CODA member companies regarding copyright infringement related to Sora 2’s outputs.”

These developments came amid revelations of a Japanese survey, which showed that over half of the Japanese companies it covered, including Capcom and Level-5, have been dabbling in AI for game development.