Studio Ghibli, Bandai Namco, Square Enix demand OpenAI stop using their content to train AI

The Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), an anti-piracy organization representing Japanese IP holders like Studio Ghibli and Bandai Namco, released a letter last week asking OpenAI to stop using its members’ content to train Sora 2, as reported by Automaton. The letter states that “CODA considers that the act of replication during the machine learning process may constitute copyright infringement,” since the resulting AI model went on to spit out content with copyrighted characters. Sora 2 generated an avalanche of content containing Japanese IP after it launched on September 30th, prompting Japan’s government to formally ask OpenAI to stop replicating Japanese artwork. This isn’t the first time one of OpenAI’s apps clearly pulled from Japanese media, either — the highlight of GPT-4o’s launch back in March was a proliferation of “Ghibli-style” images. Even Sam Altman’s own profile picture on X is currently a portrait in a style reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. Altman announced last month that OpenAI will be changing Sora’s opt-out policy for IP holders, but CODA claims that the use of an opt-out policy to begin with may have violated Japanese copyright law, stating, “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.” CODA is now requesting on behalf of its members that OpenAI “responds sincerely” to its members’ copyright claims and stops using their content for machine learning without their permission, which seems to include not just Sora output, but also the use of Japanese IP as training data.