The explosive rise of Sora — OpenAI’s text-to-video generation app — has captured global attention for its astonishing realism and creativity. But as users began flooding social media with AI-generated clips featuring familiar Hollywood characters, the app also ignited an intense backlash from studios, actors, and copyright holders concerned about the unauthorized use of their intellectual property.

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Now, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, is stepping in to address those concerns. In a late-night blog post on Friday, Altman announced that the company will introduce “more granular control” for rightsholders and is actively exploring a revenue-sharing program for creators whose IP appears in user-generated Sora videos.

“First, we will give rightsholders more granular control over generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls,” Altman wrote. “We are hearing from a lot of rightsholders who are very excited for this new kind of ‘interactive fan fiction,’ but they want the ability to specify how their characters can be used — including not at all.”

From “opt-out” to “opt-in” — a major policy shift

The move represents a notable reversal from OpenAI’s earlier “opt-out” policy, which allowed characters, brands, and other copyrighted material to appear in user-generated videos unless the owners explicitly requested removal. Under the new rules, OpenAI will adopt a “stricter opt-in model”, meaning that creators and companies must grant permission before their IP can be generated within Sora.

This shift mirrors OpenAI’s existing system for individuals, which allows users to control whether their likeness or voice can be used in generative AI content. However, the company is extending these protections to fictional characters, trademarks, and franchise IP, in response to growing pressure from entertainment giants like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Sony Pictures.

Altman’s statement also suggests that while Sora’s output policies are changing, the system may still be trained on media containing known characters or copyrighted visuals — a gray area that is likely to fuel further debate about AI training data and copyright law.

Hollywood’s reaction and the IP dilemma

The announcement comes amid rising tensions between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, as generative AI technology increasingly intersects with the entertainment industry.

Major studios and guilds — including the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) — have voiced concerns that AI tools like Sora could be used to replicate actors, writers, and creative works without consent or compensation.

Altman’s statement appears to be a direct response to those concerns. By offering an opt-in framework and potential profit-sharing system, OpenAI aims to appease rightsholders while keeping creators engaged.

“People are generating much more than we expected per user, and a lot of videos are being generated for very small audiences,” Altman wrote. “We are going to try sharing some of this revenue with rightsholders who want their characters generated by users.”

He added that the revenue model is still in development and will likely undergo “trial and error” before it becomes standardized.

A new frontier: “interactive fan fiction”

Despite the controversy, Altman’s tone suggested cautious optimism about what Sora represents for storytelling and fandom. He described a growing community of creators using AI to remix familiar universes — not for exploitation, but for creative expression.

“We’re hearing from rightsholders who see this as a new kind of interactive fan fiction,” Altman said. “They believe this kind of engagement will accrue a lot of value — if it’s done ethically.”

That perspective aligns with a larger cultural shift in online creativity. Sora’s users have produced everything from reimagined Marvel storylines to Star Wars fan films, blurring the boundary between fan art and studio IP.

But the same tools that empower fans also threaten established creative industries, raising urgent questions about ownership, consent, and monetization in the AI era.

The road ahead for OpenAI and Sora

Sora remains in its early-access phase, with select creators and developers experimenting under limited release. Still, the platform has already demonstrated how generative AI could revolutionize filmmaking — and, in the process, disrupt traditional media production models.

OpenAI’s promise of more transparent IP governance and potential revenue sharing could set a precedent for how tech companies collaborate with — rather than compete against — creative industries.

Analysts believe the company’s next major challenge will be ensuring copyright compliance across billions of generated videos while maintaining creative freedom for users.

As the entertainment industry grapples with the implications of AI, one thing is certain: tools like Sora are redefining what it means to create, share, and profit from visual storytelling.

“This is new territory for everyone,” Altman concluded. “We want to build a system that rewards creativity — both human and artificial — without crossing ethical or legal lines.”