There's an urgent need to establish a robust system.

On October 11, following the launch of OpenAI's AI-powered video generation app, Sora, there was a meteoric rise in downloads, coupled with alarming figures of copyright infringement.

According to data from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), within just 48 hours of its release, the Sora platform had already hosted over 20,000 videos featuring copyrighted characters from entities like Disney and Warner Bros., raising serious infringement issues.

On October 8, Hollywood's elite talent agencies, including Creative Artists Agency (CAA), William Morris Endeavor (WME), United Talent Agency (UTA), and International Creative Management Partners (ICM Partners), collectively issued a statement urging OpenAI to immediately halt its infringing activities.

Image source: CNBC

Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a premier Hollywood talent agency, highlighted that Sora's swift ascent has thrown numerous artistic creators into turmoil.

Xiaolei noted that CAA, established in 1975 and headquartered in Los Angeles, USA, stands as a leading entertainment and sports agency. It represents a vast array of actors, directors, musicians, and athletes, with notable clients including Doja Cat, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Hanks.

The ire of these talent agencies stems from Sora's initial "default use-opt out" policy. Under OpenAI's original framework, copyright holders were compelled to proactively request the blocking of their characters; otherwise, the system would permit their generation by default.

Image source: Sora

In its legal correspondence to OpenAI, Disney asserted, "We are under no obligation to engage in your opt-out scheme to safeguard our copyrights." The entertainment behemoth clarified that any AI-generated videos featuring characters like Mickey Mouse and Marvel heroes constitute infringement, irrespective of commercial intent.

Confronted with this copyright maelstrom, OpenAI is navigating through challenging technological refinements. On October 4, OpenAI announced the implementation of two significant adjustments:

1. Transition the copyright control mechanism from "opt-out" to "opt-in," ensuring Sora cannot generate character images without explicit written consent from copyright holders.

2. Introduce a revenue-sharing initiative, enabling authorized entities to partake in advertising revenue generated from related videos.

However, these proposed solutions continue to spark debate. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists contends that the mechanism solely safeguards the copyrights of film and television companies, overlooking actors' portrait rights. Scarlett Johansson's legal team has initiated a lawsuit in a California court, demanding that OpenAI cease generating her virtual likeness, regardless of authorization from copyright holders.

Xiaolei posits that this "dual copyright" assertion may ignite novel legal disputes in the AI era.

Discussing copyright protection, Xiaolei also delved into various measures currently enforced across different regions concerning AI industry copyright:

EU: The Digital Markets Act (DMA) mandates all generative AI tools to disclose their training data sources and establish a swift complaint mechanism for copyright holders.

China: The National Copyright Administration has initiated a "Special Action for Copyright Protection of AI-Generated Content," requiring platforms to institute a 24-hour response mechanism for infringing content. Corporations like Tencent and ByteDance have jointly issued the "Self-Regulatory Pact for AI Content Creation," explicitly banning the generation of infringing content featuring renowned Chinese IPs.

Revisiting the Sora incident, it unveils a disconcerting reality: as AI technology transcends human creative boundaries, traditional copyright frameworks are grappling to adapt, necessitating the urgent establishment of new standards.

Only through the continuous refinement of relevant standard systems can the AI industry achieve sustainable growth and development.

Finally, have you experimented with the recently popular Sora to create videos? Feel free to share your experiences and insights in the comments section.

Source: Leikeji

Images in this article are sourced from the 123RF licensed image library. Source: Leikeji