OpenAI's Sora creates copyright headaches with Pikachu, Goku videos

Japan publishers frustrated by generative AI with opt-out model for rights holders

20251003N Sora by Open AI

OpenAI's Sora generative AI can easily create short videos from user prompts, often with copyrighted characters. (Photo by Masaharu Ban)

Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- U.S.-based OpenAI's new Sora generative artificial intelligence has created a flood of videos with characters from popular Japanese franchises such as Pokemon and Dragonball, stoking frustration among publishers about what they view as inadequate intellectual property safeguards.

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