OpenAI’s Sora Video App Hits 1 Million Downloads in Under Five Days, Stirring Copyright Debate
OpenAI’s latest innovation, Sora, has stormed to over one million downloads in less than five days – a milestone it reached even faster than the company’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT, did at launch.
The text-to-video app, now topping the Apple App Store charts in the United States, allows users to create 10-second, hyper-realistic videos simply by typing prompts. Despite being invite-only and available exclusively in North America, Sora’s uptake has been explosive, according to its head, Bill Peebles, who shared the figures on X (formerly Twitter).
But alongside its meteoric rise, the app has also ignited ethical and legal controversy. Critics have raised concerns over how it handles copyrighted characters and the likenesses of deceased public figures, which have surfaced widely across social media since Sora’s release.
AI and the dead: a growing backlash
Social platforms have been flooded with Sora-generated videos, including digital recreations of late celebrities like Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, and Robin Williams. The latter prompted a personal appeal from Williams’ daughter, Zelda Williams, who urged people to stop circulating AI versions of her father, calling them “disturbing.”
In response to growing backlash, an OpenAI spokesperson told Axios that the company must balance “strong free speech interests” with the sensitivities surrounding depictions of recently deceased figures. The company said it would allow authorized representatives to request the removal of such likenesses, though it did not define what qualifies as “recently deceased.”
Copyright concerns mount
Beyond the ethical debate, copyright infringement has become another flashpoint. Sora users have created countless videos featuring film, television, and video game characters, prompting renewed scrutiny from rights holders.
One viral video depicted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman surrounded by Pokémon characters, joking, “I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us.” Another showed a deepfake version of Altman comically grilling and eating Pikachu.
While Nintendo has not publicly commented, OpenAI and other AI companies are already entangled in ongoing lawsuits with artists, publishers, and studios alleging that their copyrighted works were used without permission to train AI models.
The legal risks are substantial – rival AI company Anthropic recently agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a lawsuit from authors claiming their work was misused for AI training.
OpenAI promises tighter controls
Amid mounting criticism, Sam Altman acknowledged the growing tension in a blog post on October 4, saying OpenAI is “learning quickly from how people are using Sora” and “taking feedback from users, rights holders, and other groups.”
Altman pledged to introduce stricter content controls, giving rights holders more precise oversight over how their characters are used, and hinted at a future revenue-sharing model for creators whose work inspires AI-generated content.
Still, it remains unclear whether such measures will satisfy artists and entertainment companies. While Altman described Sora’s creations as a kind of “interactive fan fiction”, legal experts suggest the courts may ultimately decide whether that label holds up – or whether OpenAI will face its next big challenge not in the app store, but in the courtroom.
