Big Take Podcast

Inside Disney and OpenAI’s Billion Dollar Deal

Today on the Big Take: Why Disney cut a deal with OpenAI after decades of safeguarding its intellectual property, what it stands to gain — and why now.

Drawings of Mickey Mouse are projected during the Disney Legends Awards in Anaheim, California.Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

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As AI-generated images ping pong around the internet, the Walt Disney Company has been mostly playing defense, using litigation to protect its intellectual property. But last week, Disney announced a $1 billion deal with OpenAI, licensing more than 200 of its iconic Disney characters for use on OpenAI’s video platform, Sora.