Sora’s Rapid Rise and Immediate Legal Risks

OpenAI’s latest innovation, Sora, has quickly captured global attention — and controversy. Launched this week as an invite-only app for iOS users, Sora allows anyone to create short, AI-generated videos simply by typing a prompt. Within days, the platform surged to the top of Apple’s App Store, signaling massive public interest in creative AI tools.

Yet, as users began sharing videos of recognizable brands and beloved characters like SpongeBob SquarePants, Pikachu, and Ronald McDonald, legal experts sounded alarms. “A lot of these videos are going to infringe copyright,” said Stanford Law School professor Mark Lemley. “OpenAI is opening itself up to quite a lot of copyright lawsuits by doing this.”

One viral clip even features OpenAI CEO Sam Altman standing beside Pokémon characters, joking, “I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us.” That offhand remark may capture the precarious balance between innovation and infringement that now defines the company’s latest venture.

The Legal Line Between Creativity and Copyright

Sora’s promise lies in democratizing creativity, but that freedom comes at a potential legal cost. Characters and logos — from Disney’s animated icons to McDonald’s mascots — are protected by strict copyright and trademark laws. Unauthorized use, even for parody or non-commercial purposes, often leads to disputes.

OpenAI has stated that it will honor takedown requests and allow rights holders to block characters from the platform. Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s head of media partnerships, emphasized that the company aims to collaborate with creators and rights holders. “We’ll work with rights holders to block characters from Sora at their request and respond to takedown requests,” he told CNBC.

However, this reactive approach differs from the traditional “opt-in” model that dominates copyright law. Jason Bloom, chair of the intellectual property litigation group at Haynes Boone, cautioned that OpenAI’s method flips legal precedent. “You can’t just post a notice to the public saying we’re going to use everybody’s works unless you tell us not to,” he said. “That’s not how copyright works.”

The Broader Industry Battle Over AI and IP

Sora’s launch comes amid escalating legal tensions between AI startups and major entertainment conglomerates. Disney and Universal have already filed lawsuits against Midjourney, accusing the image-generation company of exploiting copyrighted material from their films. Similarly, Disney recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI over its use of well-known fictional personalities.

If OpenAI’s Sora becomes a mainstream creative hub, the platform could face similar challenges. The ability to generate recognizable likenesses raises both ethical and commercial concerns — from unauthorized brand use to the manipulation of celebrity images. “You can imagine why Taylor Swift wouldn’t want videos of her saying things she doesn’t say,” Lemley noted, pointing to the reputational risks that come with generative media.

What Comes Next for OpenAI and the Creative Economy

Despite mounting legal scrutiny, OpenAI appears determined to integrate Sora into the broader AI ecosystem. The company says it plans to roll out new tools giving rights holders more granular control over how their content is used. CEO Sam Altman recently wrote that OpenAI’s goal is to make participation “so compelling that many people want to” engage rather than opt out.

Still, the road ahead is uncertain. The clash between generative AI and copyright law remains unresolved, and Sora could become the next major test case in defining digital ownership. As AI creativity accelerates, the question is no longer whether companies like OpenAI can build such tools — but whether they can do so without dismantling the very concept of creative rights.