Numerous AI-generated videos featuring Disney characters have been eliminated from YouTube by Google, according to Variety.

This move follows a cease-and-desist letter sent by Disney to Google, which came just prior to Disney’s announcement of a $1 billion agreement with OpenAI.

The letter claimed that Google was violating Disney’s intellectual property rights, including characters from Star Wars, the MCU, and animated features such as Frozen and Moana. Some of these videos were produced using Veo, an AI tool from Google. Disney also pointed out that AI-generated figurines of characters like Deadpool and Elsa constituted infringements.

As of Friday, the links to the contested videos redirected users to a message indicating, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Disney.”

A representative from Google mentioned they would work with Disney, stressing their utilization of public data and advanced copyright mechanisms like Google-extended and Content ID for YouTube.

Additionally, Disney has pursued legal action against other AI services, filing a lawsuit with Universal against Midjourney for copyright violations.

In spite of these measures, Disney’s partnership with OpenAI signifies its acceptance of AI technology. The contract includes a $1 billion infusion, positioning Disney as a significant client while providing access to OpenAI’s tools.

The licensing agreement permits users to produce Sora videos featuring Disney characters, with some being made available on Disney+.

Disney’s CEO Bob Iger remarked that the deal does not pose a risk to creators, implying that Disney will enable AI-generated content if it originates from OpenAI.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent organization of Mashable, has initiated a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement.