OpenAI accused of violating Studio Ghibli copyright
Embedded Files
Occurred: March 2025
Report incident 🔥 | Improve page 💁 | Access database 🔢
OpenAI faces allegations of copyright infringement for enabling AI-generated art in the style of Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli in its GPT-4o image generator, raising legal and ethical concerns about intellectual property and AI.
What happened
What happened
GPT-4o sparked a viral trend in which users created art mimicking Studio Ghibli’s iconic style, leading to accusations that the AI company deliberately and systemically exploited Ghibli's copyrighted works and trademarks without permission, payment or acknowledgement.
The trend reignited debates over generative AI’s impact on human artists, potential consumer confusion about authenticity, and the undermining of Ghibli’s ability to monetise its artistic output and reputation.
Why it happened
Why it happened
OpenAI took advantage of uncertainty about the legal definition of fair use and AI to train its AI models on explicitly copyrighted material, including Studio Ghibli’s works, and allowed users to generate images in Ghibli's style without adequately covering its tracks by implementing adequate safeguards.
The AI company has defended its practices under the "fair use" doctrine, but critics argue this constitutes intellectual property theft and misrepresentation.
What it means
What it means
Given AI-generated content is likely to mislead consumers and replace authentic creations, the controversy threatens Studio Ghibli's artistic legacy and commercial opportunities.
More broadly, the fracas highlights unresolved legal questions about copyright protection in AI development, in addition to raising broader concerns about the ethical use of generative AI technologies.
Fair use
Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder.
Source: Wikipedia 🔗
System 🤖
System 🤖
GPT-4o
Operator:
Developer: OpenAI
Country: Japan
Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts
Purpose: Generate images
Technology: Generative AI; Machine learning
Issue: Accountability; Authenticity; Cheating/plagiarism; Copyright; Employment; Transparency
News, commentary, analysis 🗞️
News, commentary, analysis 🗞️
https://www.theverge.com/openai/636529/images-chatgpt-openai-studio-ghibli-copyright
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2025/03/28/studio-ghibli-miyazaki-ai-portraits/82703280007/
https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/the-controversial-chatgpt-studio-ghibli-trend-explained-what-you-need-to-know
https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/openai-ceo-chatgpt-studio-ghibli-ai-images-1236349141/
Page info
Type: Issue
Published: April 2025
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse