A group representing major Japanese publishers, including Studio Ghibli, has called on OpenAI to halt the use of copyrighted materials in its model training without authorization. The Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) issued a letter last week requesting that OpenAI stop using its members’ creative works in machine learning processes.
Studio Ghibli, known for films such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, has seen its distinctive animation style replicated across generative AI platforms. When OpenAI launched its native image generator in March, users began prompting it to produce “Ghiblified” versions of selfies and pet photos—a trend even adopted by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who changed his X profile picture to a similar image.
With the wider rollout of OpenAI’s Sora app and video generator, CODA’s letter emphasized that such systems should not reproduce or train on copyrighted content without explicit consent. CODA said this practice may amount to copyright infringement under Japanese law, which requires prior permission for use and does not recognize post-facto objections as a defense.
CODA wrote, “In cases, as with Sora 2, where specific copyrighted works are reproduced or similarly generated as outputs, the act of replication during the machine learning process may constitute copyright infringement.”
OpenAI’s “ask forgiveness, not permission” approach to copyrighted data has drawn global scrutiny. Its tools have made it simple to generate likenesses of copyrighted characters and deceased public figures, prompting complaints from companies such as Nintendo and the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Critics say the ease of generating such outputs blurs the boundary between fair use and infringement.
U.S. copyright law remains ambiguous on the issue, having last been updated in 1976. In a recent case, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that Anthropic did not violate copyright law by training on protected books but fined the company for acquiring those materials illegally. CODA argues that such rulings would not apply in Japan, where consent must precede usage.
While Studio Ghibli’s co-founder Hayao Miyazaki has not commented directly on the recent surge of AI-generated imagery, he previously criticized AI animation demonstrations in 2016, calling them “an insult to life itself.”
Featured image credits: pix4free.org
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