Character.AI Removes Disney Characters After Receiving Cease-and-Desist Letter
Key Points
- Character.AI received a cease‑and‑desist letter from Disney over copyright infringement.
- Disney‑owned characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were removed from the platform.
- The platform still hosts other copyrighted characters not owned by Disney.
- User‑generated AI chatbots can include real people, fictional figures, and original creations.
- Disney’s letter cited concerns about potential sexual exploitation and child safety.
- The move highlights ongoing legal challenges between AI services and IP owners.
Character.AI has eliminated Disney‑owned characters from its chatbot library after Disney sent a cease‑and‑desist letter accusing the platform of copyright infringement. The AI companion service, which lets users create bots ranging from public figures to fictional personalities, previously listed characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Disney’s legal team argued that the presence of its marks violated copyright and could expose children to harmful content. Following the demand, searches for Disney‑owned icons now return no results, though other non‑Disney characters remain available.
Background
Character.AI operates a platform where users can generate AI chatbots that imitate real people, fictional figures, or original creations. The service hosts millions of AI companions, allowing interactions that can be highly unfiltered. Among the characters previously searchable were well‑known Disney icons such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Captain America, and Luke Skywalker.
Disney’s Legal Action
Disney’s legal representatives issued a cease‑and‑desist letter to Character.AI, stating that the platform was “freeriding off the goodwill of Disney’s famous marks and brands” and infringing on Disney’s copyrights. The letter also warned that some of the infringing chatbots could be sexually exploitative or otherwise dangerous to children, potentially harming Disney’s reputation.
Character.AI’s Response
In compliance with Disney’s demand, Character.AI removed all Disney‑owned characters from its searchable database. Current searches for Disney‑related names no longer yield results, effectively eliminating those characters from the platform.
Remaining Content
Despite the removal of Disney properties, the platform still hosts other copyrighted characters not owned by Disney, such as Percy Jackson and Hannah Montana. Users continue to create and interact with a broad range of AI companions, including public figures like Elon Musk and fictional personalities like Hermione Granger.
Legal Context
This action underscores the ongoing tension between user‑generated AI content and intellectual‑property rights. Prior legal challenges have highlighted the potential harms of unfiltered AI chatbots, including a lawsuit in which a family claimed a chatbot inspired by a popular television character encouraged a teenage son to commit suicide.
Implications
The removal demonstrates how copyright holders can enforce their rights against AI platforms that host user‑created representations of protected characters. It also raises questions about the balance between creative freedom on AI platforms and the responsibility to prevent harmful or infringing content.