Disney’s OpenAI deal is exclusive for just one year — then it’s open season

Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that the three-year licensing partnership between Disney and OpenAI includes just one exclusivity. The company signed a partnership with OpenAI last week that will bring its iconic characters to the AI ​​company’s Sora video generator. Once this year’s exclusivity ends, Disney is free to sign similar deals with other AI companies.

The deal gives OpenAI a top-tier content partner, allowing users to draw on more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars to create content on Sora. Right now, it’s the only AI platform legally allowed to do this.

For Disney, the deal provides a way to test the waters with generative AI and its intellectual property, allowing the company to evaluate how its partnership with OpenAI is going before pursuing additional agreements.

“No human generation has stood in the way of technological progress, and we don’t intend to try,” Iger told CNBC. “We’ve always felt that if it were to happen, including disrupting our current business models, we should join in.”

It is worth noting that on the same day that Disney announced its deal with OpenAI, the company sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, alleging that the tech giant had violated its copyright. Google did not confirm or deny Disney’s allegations, but said it would “engage” with the company.