Google’s AI tools, including Gemini and the Nano Banana image generator, will no longer create content based on prompts that reference (or, in some cases, are similar to) Disney characters. As first reported by Deadline and tested out by CNET, Google has apparently tweaked its AI tools to deny prompts that could violate Disney copyrights.
The move is likely in response to a cease-and-desist letter from the entertainment company in December. In that letter, Disney alleged that Google was failing to implement technology to prevent copyright infringement.
«Google continues to directly exploit Disney’s copyrights for commercial gain,» Disney alleged in the cease-and-desist letter. Representatives for Google and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Referencing characters like Moana or Disney’s version of Tinker Bell causes tools such as Nano Banana to return an error or stall out before generating an image. In one case, CNET tried to create an image of a character similar in appearance to Mickey Mouse without naming the character: «A cartoon mouse with big yellow shoes wearing red shorts with two white buttons on the front. He has a black ball nose and looks very happy.»
Google’s AI responded, «I can’t generate the image you requested right now due to concerns from third-party content providers. Please edit your prompt and try again.»
Incidentally, Mickey Mouse, at least the early versions of the character created by Walt Disney, is in the public domain. Complicating Disney’s response to Google’s AI tools is a deal with OpenAI brokered last year that would bring 200 characters to the AI company’s Sora video generator. Disney made a $1 billion investment in OpenAI.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
