Disney has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, accusing the company of widespread copyright infringement involving its popular characters and franchises. The complaint centers around Google’s artificial intelligence tools, which Disney claims are illegally using and generating content based on its intellectual property without permission.
The letter, obtained by TheWrap, was written by attorney David Singer of the law firm Jenner & Block. It outlines Disney’s concerns that Google is using its dominance in AI to “commercially exploit and distribute” content that infringes on Disney’s copyrights. The company argues this is happening “on a massive scale” and that Google is profiting from it.
According to the letter, Disney says the AI tools are producing images and videos that feature characters from films like Frozen, The Lion King, Moana, The Little Mermaid, Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Wars. These are some of Disney’s most valuable brands, and the company is demanding that Google stop using any related material in its AI training and outputs.
Disney also pointed to several of Google’s platforms and products — including its image and video generators Veo, Imagen, and Nano Banana, as well as its Gemini virtual assistant and YouTube — as areas where the alleged infringement is occurring.
Disney is accusing Google of copyright infringement on a “massive scale,” alleging the company used its AI models and services to “commercially exploit and distribute” unauthorized images and videos.
Lawyers for Disney delivered a cease-and-desist letter to Google on Wednesday… pic.twitter.com/hHTmP70ykJ
— Variety (@Variety) December 11, 2025
The letter accuses Google of refusing to take serious action, even though Disney claims it has been warning the company for months. Disney says that instead of slowing down, the problem has gotten worse. “If anything, Google’s infringement has only increased during that time,” the letter states.
Disney is asking Google to take several steps, including halting the use of any Disney-owned material in AI training, preventing further infringing outputs, and providing a list of what copyrighted content Google has already used. Disney also wants Google to stop distributing anything that is based on its characters or storylines through its AI tools or other platforms.
The conflict reflects larger questions that tech companies and content creators are now facing. As generative AI tools become more powerful and accessible, more companies are raising concerns about how their content is being used — especially when it involves copyrighted material.
Google has faced similar complaints before from media organizations, musicians, and other creators who are worried that their work is being used to train AI systems without their permission or compensation.
DISNEY SENT CEASE-AND-DESIST TO GOOGLE ON WEDNESDAY… ANNOUNCED $1 BILLION OPENAI DEAL ON THURSDAY
The timing tells you everything.
On Wednesday, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google alleging the tech giant is infringing on its copyrighted works to train AI models… pic.twitter.com/iBTq80AMqA
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 12, 2025
This isn’t the first time Disney has taken this kind of action. According to TheWrap, the company has sent similar letters to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and to Character.AI, a smaller AI company whose founders were hired by Google last year. Disney is clearly trying to draw a line in the sand when it comes to how its intellectual property is used by AI tools.
At the same time, Disney is making some moves in the AI space itself. Earlier this week, the company announced a billion-dollar deal with OpenAI — the company behind ChatGPT — to develop new ways of using AI in entertainment. That deal suggests Disney is not against AI altogether but wants to control how its content is used in these systems.
The situation highlights the growing tension between traditional entertainment companies and the tech giants who are now competing in the content space using artificial intelligence. With AI tools becoming more advanced every month, and with major platforms pushing to roll out new features quickly, the legal and ethical debates over copyright use are likely just getting started.
As more companies like Disney take legal action, it could have long-term effects on how AI is developed, trained, and used in the public space.
