OpenAI hit with copyright warning from Studio Ghibli and others
04 Nov 2025

The Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), an anti-piracy group representing Japanese IP holders such as Studio Ghibli and Bandai Namco, has called out OpenAI for allegedly using its members' content to train Sora 2 AI model.

The letter states that "the act of replication during the machine learning process may constitute copyright infringement," as the resulting AI model produced content featuring copyrighted characters.

Japanese government requested OpenAI to stop replicating artwork
AI controversy

The launch of Sora 2 on September 30 triggered a massive amount of content featuring Japanese IP. This prompted the Japanese government to formally request OpenAI to stop replicating Japanese artwork.

Notably, this isn't the first time an OpenAI app has been linked with Japanese media. The launch of GPT-4o model in March also saw a wave of "Ghibli-style" images being generated by users world over.

CODA argues that the use of an opt-out policy
Policy scrutiny

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had announced last month that the company would be changing Sora's opt-out policy for IP holders.

However, CODA argues that the use of an opt-out policy in the first place may have violated Japanese copyright law.

The organization contends that "under Japan's copyright system, prior permission is generally required for the use of copyrighted works," and there's no system to avoid liability through subsequent objections.

CODA is demanding that OpenAI 'respond sincerely' to their claims
Legal action

On behalf of its members, CODA is now demanding that OpenAI "responds sincerely" to their copyright claims and stop using their content for machine learning without permission.

This demand appears to cover not just Sora output but also the use of Japanese IP as training data.