Artificial Intelligence and Copyright: What's Happening Between Disney and Google?
L'artificial intelligence is reshaping the relationship between technology and copyright. The use of artificial intelligence to train generative models on protected content is becoming one of the hottest legal topics in the media and entertainment industry.
The recent case involving Disney against Google is a prime example. A formal letter of cease and desist, viewed by The Verge, reveals that Disney accuses Google of using a large catalog of copyrighted works without permission to train and run various generative AI models.
Systems such as Gemini, Veo, Imagen, and Nano Banana, all connected to Google's artificial intelligence ecosystem, are targeted. According to the formal notice, these technologies have derived "significant economic benefits" from the unauthorized exploitation of Disney intellectual property, without adequate protection measures despite months of discussions between the parties.
Artificial Intelligence and Copyright: Disney's Warning to Google
The formal warning sent by Disney to Google concerns the use of the’artificial intelligence in relation to protected content, such as films, series, characters, and other creative assets. In the letter, Disney claims that Google used these materials both in training its models and in their operational use, without an explicit licensing agreement.
At the heart of the dispute is the alleged exploitation of a "large body of protected works" belonging to the Disney catalog. This includes both historical content and more recent productions, which represent a heritage of enormous economic and symbolic value for the entertainment group.
Disney also emphasizes the commercial role of the AI systems involved. Tools like Gemini, Veo, Imagen, and Nano Banana are part of Google's strategy to consolidate its presence in the generative AI market, with direct impacts on advertising, productivity, and content creation. For Disney, this cannot be achieved without rigorous control over the rights to use its own works.
Artificial Intelligence in the Gemini, Veo, Imagen, and Nano Banana Systems
The systems of artificial intelligence The models cited in the formal notice—Gemini, Veo, Imagen, and Nano Banana—represent various applications of generative AI. Gemini is Google's flagship multimodal model, designed to work with text, images, code, and other formats, and is integrated into numerous products across the company's ecosystem.
Veo focuses on generating videos from text prompts, a technology that directly approximates the type of content created by players like Disney. Imagen, on the other hand, is geared towards creating high-quality synthetic images, while Nano Banana is designed for resource-constrained devices, such as smartphones and embedded hardware, to offer AI capabilities on the go.
Using large datasets to train these models is a well-established practice in the artificial intelligence industry. However, when these datasets include copyrighted materials—such as characters, scenes, illustrations, and logos—strong tensions arise with rights holders. The Disney-Google case is part of a broader context that also affects publishing, music, and the visual arts, as evidenced by numerous debates reported by Wikipedia on copyright and from analyses on the relationship between AI and copyright published by specialized publications.
Disney-OpenAI Agreement and Controlled Use of Artificial Intelligence
While on the one hand Disney warns Google about the use of the’artificial intelligence on its own content, and on the other, it has entered into a billion-dollar deal with OpenAI. The agreement allows users of Sora—OpenAI's video model—to create content using official Disney characters, with future integration also on Disney+.
This passage highlights a crucial aspect: the problem isn't AI itself, but control over rights and the methods of exploitation. Through the agreement with OpenAI, Disney defines a clear boundary: the use of its characters to create generative videos is permitted, but only within a regulated framework, with defined licenses, limits, and economic benefits.
Future integration on Disney+ opens up interesting opportunities for interactivity and personalized content, in line with the evolution of digital entertainment. At the same time, it reinforces the idea that major IP holders want to remain at the center of the AI value chain, directly negotiating the use of their assets with major technology providers.
A hard line on generative AI and intellectual property
Disney's position on the’artificial intelligence It doesn't start with the Google warning. In recent months, the group has already taken similar action against Character.AI and filed a lawsuit against Midjourney, a leading text-based image generation system. This series of initiatives outlines an increasingly tough line in defending intellectual property rights in the context of generative AI.
For Disney, the risk is twofold. On the one hand, there's the possibility that models trained on protected content could generate unauthorized derivative works, eroding the value of its brands and characters. On the other, there's the fear that uncontrolled access to these materials could reduce the group's negotiating power in licensing and partnerships, a key pillar of its business model.
This approach reflects a global trend: more and more companies are reevaluating how their data and content are used by artificial intelligence. Regulatory authorities in Europe and the United States are starting to intervene with guidelines and regulatory proposals, as also highlighted by the European Union's official documentation on’AI Act, which aims to define clear rules for the development and use of AI.
Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Marketing and Business
THE'artificial intelligence Generative marketing is profoundly transforming marketing and business, especially in sectors like media, entertainment, and retail. Tools capable of creating text, images, and videos in seconds are opening up enormous opportunities for personalized content, dynamic campaigns, and customer communication automation.
At the same time, the Disney-Google case demonstrates that competitive advantage also depends on control over data and usage rights. Companies with strong intellectual property assets can negotiate strategic agreements with AI technology providers, as in the Disney-OpenAI deal, turning the risk of cannibalization into a new source of revenue.
For brands, this means rethinking digital asset management: product catalogs, media archives, customer databases, and user-generated content (UGC) become the fuel for AI systems dedicated to marketing. The challenge is to build an ecosystem where automation, copyright compliance, and data protection go hand in hand, ensuring an advanced yet secure and compliant customer experience.
In digital marketing, artificial intelligence allows you to:
- better segment your audience and personalize offers and messages;
- automate multi-channel campaigns across email, social media, and messaging apps;
- generate dynamic creativity (texts, images, videos) based on real user behavior;
- improve customer support with advanced chatbots and virtual agents.
However, the widespread use of AI-generated content requires clear internal policies, legal guidelines, and close coordination between marketing, legal, and IT to avoid the risk of copyright infringement or misuse of sensitive data.
How SendApp Can Help with Artificial Intelligence
THE'artificial intelligence Applied to instant messaging, and specifically to WhatsApp Business, it represents one of the most effective channels for translating these transformations into concrete marketing and customer service results. SendApp was created specifically to help companies and professionals leverage this potential in a structured, secure, and scalable way.
With SendApp Official, businesses can integrate WhatsApp's official APIs into their technology stack, connecting CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, and marketing automation solutions. This allows them to orchestrate automated communication flows, transactional notifications, and personalized campaigns, while maintaining full control of data and consent.
SendApp Agent It allows for advanced team management of WhatsApp conversations, combining human agents with AI capabilities for routing, quick responses, and proactive support. Businesses can configure intelligent bots to answer frequently asked questions, collect qualified leads, and activate guided sales flows, always with the option to hand the conversation over to a human agent when necessary.
For more complex scenarios, SendApp Cloud It offers a scalable automation infrastructure, ideal for integrating AI with existing systems and orchestrating omnichannel campaigns. For example, you can connect AI models that analyze conversation sentiment, profile users, or generate response proposals, while maintaining governance, traceability, and compliance with privacy and data regulations.
In a context where cases like Disney-Google are placing copyright and asset control at the forefront, a platform like SendApp helps companies leverage artificial intelligence in WhatsApp communications in a responsible, transparent, and business-focused manner. The combination of official APIs, advanced conversation management, and cloud automation allows for advanced customer experiences, while maintaining security, compliance, and the value of their information assets.
For businesses looking to bring artificial intelligence to their marketing and customer care processes on WhatsApp, the next step is to launch a pilot project: define clear objectives, choose the workflows to automate, measure the results, and gradually scale. SendApp offers all the necessary components to do so, with dedicated support and solutions designed for both SMEs and large brands.
Want to learn how to apply artificial intelligence to your WhatsApp Business strategy? Discover SendApp solutions on the official website. sendapp.live and request a consultation or a free trial to start experimenting in a concrete and measurable way.
