Hollywood agencies condemn OpenAI's Sora for IP and likeness violations
Hollywood talent agencies including CAA and UTA publicly condemned OpenAI's Sora 2 video generation app for allowing the creation of videos featuring their clients' likenesses and intellectual property without consent or compensation. The agencies called for control, permission and compensation for creators, while OpenAI said it had implemented guardrails and would offer more granular controls over character generation.
What happened
OpenAI launched Sora 2, an AI video generation app that debuted Sept. 30, 2025, allowing users to create hyperrealistic video clips featuring popular characters and brands, and to scan their faces and place themselves in the videos.
The app launched with an 'opt-out' system allowing use of copyrighted material unless studios or agencies requested their IP not be used. CEO Sam Altman said they would give rightsholders 'more granular control over generation of characters.'
Reported impact
Creative Artists Agency stated that Sora 2 'exposes our clients and their intellectual property to significant risk' and questioned whether OpenAI believes creators 'deserve to be compensated and credited for the work they create' or if OpenAI can 'just steal it, disregarding global copyright principles and blatantly dismissing creators' rights.'
United Talent Agency called Sora 2's use of copyrighted property 'exploitation, not innovation,' stating 'There is no substitute for human talent in our business, and we will continue to fight tirelessly for our clients to ensure that they are protected.' WME notified OpenAI that all its clients be opted out of Sora 2 regardless of whether IP rights holders have opted out.
Index analysis
The agencies framed the issue around control, permission and compensation for creators. CAA stated 'Control, permission for use, and compensation is a fundamental right of these workers' and signaled openness to hearing OpenAI's solutions.
Governance controls
OpenAI placed guardrails to prevent use of well-known characters and was removing generated characters from the app's public feed. OpenAI said it would give rightsholders 'more granular control over generation of characters.'
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.