Universal's 'No AI Training' Warning: IP Protection & AI Ethics
Universal Pictures adding a 'No AI Training' warning signals a critical shift in intellectual property protection and the emerging debate around AI's use of copyrighted content. This creates a vast opportunity for legal tech solutions (e.g., blockchain for content attribution, AI-resistant watermarks), ethical AI development platforms, and consulting services specializing in IP rights and content creators' agreements in the age of generative AI. The market for tools and services that help content creators protect their work from unauthorized AI scraping will grow significantly.
Origin Reddit Post
r/technology
Universal Adds ‘No AI Training’ Warning to Movies
Posted by u/ErinDotEngineer•08/07/2025
Top Comments
u/triffy
It’s just Marketing. People also hate AI Generator things in Movies. That will be the other disxlaimer
u/[deleted]
[removed]
u/ErinDotEngineer
They are not looking to stop them at this point, just set themselves for more legal options in the future.
u/IRequirePants
Was it Anthropic that found out OpenAI was using Claude to develop the newest release?
u/HoboOperative
Good, no more free lunch for art thieves.
u/grannyte
Can't wait for the major AI to start adding the disclaimer to their generated slop
u/SidewaysFancyPrance
Right, the laws could change tomorrow and it's important to set a precedent internally.
u/JMEEKER86
Doesn't matter if it's not posted to an AI company's platform. If it's shared anywhere with the public then it's fair game under current law as long as the work itself is not being redistribu
u/SomeBloke
Only if I wanted one with five wheels (excluding the spare).
u/triffy
It’s just Marketing. People also hate AI Generator things in Movies. That will be the other disxlaimer
u/TheAnonymousProxy
You wouldn't AI a car, would you?
u/eliota1
Queue the violin. The studios which paid creative writers pennies or maybe just took the basic idea they heard during a pitch and "expanded" it are now crying because they are being preyed up
u/Memonlinefelix
Good. No to slop.
u/Cube00
It's only a problem when the poors do it.
u/Killchrono
And if they did start pushing for anti-copy laws, the irony is they'd be shooting themselves in the foot too.
They're all pointing guns at each other while simultaneously pilfering their poc
u/Wobbly_Princess
The reason I feel doubtful of this is because it feels like there's a general, blanket shaming of using AI across the board. To where I feel like ANY AI art, regardless of profit or not, is g
u/TheWholeOfTheAss
Until they figure out a way to make money from AI.
u/David-J
You're so wrong.
u/snowsuit101
It is meaningful in the EU, the EU AI Act specifically says that although publicly available content can be used to train AI, copyright holders can opt out or reserve their rights for AI trai
u/Mr_McZongo
I misinterpreted the headline and thought this was a notice saying the movie you're about to watch was made with no AI.
Wishful thinking, but there needs a be that kind of disclaimer on mo
u/Motorhead546
Just like the yellowing on a lot a AI generated pics.
Just because of a f'ing Ghibli ripoff photo app everyone was using at a point.
u/Thad_Ivanov
You wouldn't train your AI on a car
u/Cube00
It's only a problem when the poors do it.
u/EmbarrassedHelp
They try to ban each other from doing it, but they have no legal leg to stand on for such a ban.
u/NanditoPapa
Well, THAT will fix the problem. Good job guys. We can all go home now...
u/ErinDotEngineer
Indeed, just a matter of time. Not quite yet, though as they are still in the gain market share portion of their ark.
u/ErinDotEngineer
All large brands use services that monitor public platforms, marketplaces, etc. for uses of their IP.
Also for physical products the large brands work with the State Department, DHS and CBP
u/FernandoMM1220
i forgot people did this lol
u/IRequirePants
Dumb question: how would they find out?
u/not_a_moogle
I need to make sure i have everyones cell and save the pictures I want first. Maybe next month, its a process
u/stumpyraccoon
As airtight as "OC dont steal"
u/ErinDotEngineer
Not yet, but maybe soon.
u/stellarborne
It’s not exactly piracy, but closer to plagiarism. The difference here is the scale and depth of that plagiarism: AI can parse the work of thousands of artists and create a composition that a
u/Nino_sanjaya
Tbf all car manufacturer is done by robots (which have AI in it)
u/IRequirePants
Was it Anthropic that found out OpenAI was using Claude to develop the newest release?
u/Nino_sanjaya
Tbf all car manufacturer is done by robots (which have AI in it)
u/Cube00
Yet millions still won't close their accounts.
u/pguyton
ahhh but did they resshare that on facebook? if not it does not count lol
u/JMEEKER86
Nah, it's as useless as those "I don't give Facebook permission to use my pictures, my information or my publications" posts. There's zero legal basis for those kinds of notices and under cur
u/EmbarrassedHelp
They try to ban each other from doing it, but they have no legal leg to stand on for such a ban.
u/TheUpperHand
Reminds me of the boomers who were posting “I DO NOT GIVE FACEBOOK MY CONSENT TO USE MY DATA.” Just about as effective, at least.
u/Exist50
The content doesn't have to be public. The court ruled that training on copyrighted material is perfectly legal.
u/DaRedGuy
So what you're saying is the company that steals the work of artists is better than the company that took advantage of other artists?
u/NanditoPapa
Well, THAT will fix the problem. Good job guys. We can all go home now...
u/Endoroid99
Profit. It's like the difference between pirating to watch for yourself, and pirating to make and sell bootleg DVDs.
I'm not defending AI or piracy as being right or wrong, but that's the ma
u/Cube00
Perplexity busted using fake user agents to get past blocks.
u/ErinDotEngineer
Indeed, just a matter of time. Not quite yet, though as they are still in the gain market share portion of their ark.
u/King_Tamino
Ah yes, we‘ve gone full circle back to people posting on facebook images that say that facebook isn’t allowed to use their data
u/ArcIgnis
China has made education on AI mandatory starting on September this year for positive ends starting in primary schools.
Meanwhile in the west:
The west seeks to exploit and destroy emplo
u/bylebog
AI is really just [grey goo.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_goo)
u/Killchrono
EU at least forces some weight to be pulled and actually holds companies accountable. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have standardised USB-C ports, or companies forced to give permission
u/FlukyS
Yeah like from a legal standpoint either they need to have a law to protect copyrighted works from AI or it just won't be protected at all. In the current wording of laws at least in the west
u/Buttons840
It's legally meaningless though. The law does not come from arbitrary disclaimers individuals add to their works.
u/HoboOperative
Good, no more free lunch for art thieves.
u/TheWholeOfTheAss
Until they figure out a way to make money from AI.
u/ErinDotEngineer
It is more nuanced than that and there is case law to back it up.
Copyright is not the only protection these companies are asserting.
u/ErinDotEngineer
It is more nuanced than that and there is case law to back it up.
Copyright is not the only protection these companies are asserting.
u/Exist50
The content doesn't have to be public. The court ruled that training on copyrighted material is perfectly legal.
u/joeyb908
Yea, but Weird Al isn’t an AI that needs to be trained on content, and the more direct from a source the content he’s trained on better, the higher quality the output.
Weird Al is a human an
u/stellarborne
Not sure why you have the down votes, but I appreciate your ‘King Ludd’ sentiments. However, I fear it’s too late; mass unemployment across multiple sectors is a decade away. I have no doubt
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/grannyte
Can't wait for the major AI to start adding the disclaimer to their generated slop
u/NathanCollier14
Our parents' generation: 🧓 "back in my day, our movies were original"
Our generation: 🧓 "back in my day, our movies were original"
u/Buttons840
Yeah, so they banned the account, but then later found they were still scraping the data other ways, I think. Pretty funny.
u/[deleted]
[removed]
u/not_a_moogle
I need to make sure i have everyones cell and save the pictures I want first. Maybe next month, its a process
u/Buttons840
Yeah, so they banned the account, but then later found they were still scraping the data other ways, I think. Pretty funny.
u/King_Tamino
Ah yes, we‘ve gone full circle back to people posting on facebook images that say that facebook isn’t allowed to use their data
u/pinglyadya
That's a big fat incorrect. A multi-million dollar project that is privately circulated with licensing agreements for the exact intent to restrict access, is not in any shape or form, "public
u/IRequirePants
Dumb question: how would they find out?
u/bylebog
That will stop them
u/Wobbly_Princess
I'm not defending the use of AI art, I'm genuinely just curious: What is the moral line drawn between AI art and piracy?
Like, are the same people who watch pirated movies and TV shows onlin
u/JMEEKER86
Doesn't matter if it's not posted to an AI company's platform. If it's shared anywhere with the public then it's fair game under current law as long as the work itself is not being redistribu
u/ErinDotEngineer
In consultation with their copyright and trademark attorneys they likely were informed to start "posting a lot of notices."
It is very similar to a No Trespassing sign.
It gives them the op
u/eliota1
Queue the violin. The studios which paid creative writers pennies or maybe just took the basic idea they heard during a pitch and "expanded" it are now crying because they are being preyed up
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/jsgnextortex
Yea, cars are one of the earliest things we will probably AI.
u/pguyton
ahhh but did they resshare that on facebook? if not it does not count lol
u/ErinDotEngineer
All large brands use services that monitor public platforms, marketplaces, etc. for uses of their IP.
Also for physical products the large brands work with the State Department, DHS and CBP
u/ErinDotEngineer
That is the next front, right?
The "closed source AI content," never mind that AI models can produce an an unending supply of content every second.
That would certainly be a sight to see, t
u/ErinDotEngineer
All rife with hypocrisy, right?
u/FlukyS
Yeah like from a legal standpoint either they need to have a law to protect copyrighted works from AI or it just won't be protected at all. In the current wording of laws at least in the west
u/Niceguy955
Good luck with that Universal. Facebook just got away with torrenting millions of books. OpenAI openly admits they’re crawling private content. The horses are out of the barn.
u/Electrical_Pause_860
It’s gonna be hilarious when this is what collapses the bubble. Through a process called distillation you can create a new model by using the output of an existing one.
These companies are
u/JMEEKER86
Nah, it's as useless as those "I don't give Facebook permission to use my pictures, my information or my publications" posts. There's zero legal basis for those kinds of notices and under cur
u/SomeBloke
Only if I wanted one with five wheels (excluding the spare).
u/stellarborne
It’s not exactly piracy, but closer to plagiarism. The difference here is the scale and depth of that plagiarism: AI can parse the work of thousands of artists and create a composition that a
u/Cube00
Yet millions still won't close their accounts.
u/ErinDotEngineer
Users of Facebook agree to the Facebook Terms of Service, which grants Facebook non-elusive rights to use the Users data (applicable portion referenced below).
The User's continued use of th
u/ForgettingFish
The piss filter on so many ai pictures tells me the AI is absolutely being trained on AI
u/JMEEKER86
That is indeed how copyright works. Anyone can observe a work, learn from it, and create something inspired by it without violating copyright as long as they don't try to pass it off as being
u/stumpyraccoon
As airtight as "OC dont steal"
u/serg06
If it's legally meaningless, then why did their law team advise them to add it?
u/MOOSExDREWL
This has been tried and it doesn't work. Because LLMs are just reflections of its training data you can't use output of an LLM as training data for another one, not without a high degree of h
u/runew0lf
They also added an "it is illegal to distribute etc etc." aeons ago, that didnt stop anyone!
u/GloomySchedule3164
Can’t wait to find the “no ai training” in something the AI produces. I’d give it max 3 years
u/gullydowny
This is pretty funny, meanwhile they're working frantically to automate artists and filmmakers while hoarding our collective mythology and serving it back to us covered in shit. Godspeed Mid
u/joeyb908
And in order for OpenAI to do this, they need a copy of the movie.
u/JMEEKER86
That is indeed how copyright works. Anyone can observe a work, learn from it, and create something inspired by it without violating copyright as long as they don't try to pass it off as being
u/ErinDotEngineer
That is coming next week...
u/mcon96
A movie that you need to pay to watch is not “shared publicly”
u/mcon96
A movie that you need to pay to watch is not “shared publicly”
u/AutoModerator
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u/Back_pain_no_gain
Good luck with that
u/Shap6
This is not settled law at all. A court just ruled that AI training on books was legal and transformative for example.
u/ErinDotEngineer
That is the next front, right?
The "closed source AI content," never mind that AI models can produce an an unending supply of content every second.
That would certainly be a sight to see, t
u/ArcIgnis
China has made education on AI mandatory starting on September this year for positive ends starting in primary schools.
Meanwhile in the west:
The west seeks to exploit and destroy emplo
u/DaRedGuy
So what you're saying is the company that steals the work of artists is better than the company that took advantage of other artists?
u/mr_sparkle666
It’s like the climax of Reservoir Dogs
u/mr_sparkle666
It’s like the climax of Reservoir Dogs
u/JMEEKER86
Nah, doesn't matter, same principle. If you don't want someone to look at and study your stuff then your only choice is to not share it publicly. There's no right to privacy in public. People
u/sinus86
Does it tell Open Ai "You wouldn't download a car" ?
u/Endoroid99
Profit. It's like the difference between pirating to watch for yourself, and pirating to make and sell bootleg DVDs.
I'm not defending AI or piracy as being right or wrong, but that's the ma
u/Killchrono
And if they did start pushing for anti-copy laws, the irony is they'd be shooting themselves in the foot too.
They're all pointing guns at each other while simultaneously pilfering their poc
u/ErinDotEngineer
Users of Facebook agree to the Facebook Terms of Service, which grants Facebook non-elusive rights to use the Users data (applicable portion referenced below).
The User's continued use of th
u/stellarborne
Not sure why you have the down votes, but I appreciate your ‘King Ludd’ sentiments. However, I fear it’s too late; mass unemployment across multiple sectors is a decade away. I have no doubt
u/runew0lf
They also added an "it is illegal to distribute etc etc." aeons ago, that didnt stop anyone!
u/NathanCollier14
Our parents' generation: 🧓 "back in my day, our movies were original"
Our generation: 🧓 "back in my day, our movies were original"
u/FernandoMM1220
i forgot people did this lol
u/SidewaysFancyPrance
Right, the laws could change tomorrow and it's important to set a precedent internally.
u/ErinDotEngineer
Not unless it is Cellular connected...
u/foomachoo
It blows me away that just 20 years ago, they were jailing and ruining the lives of “pirates” who made a few copies of works.
Now, when AI copies it, they not only don’t mind, but investors
u/foomachoo
It blows me away that just 20 years ago, they were jailing and ruining the lives of “pirates” who made a few copies of works.
Now, when AI copies it, they not only don’t mind, but investors
u/ErinDotEngineer
Not yet, but maybe soon.
u/Wobbly_Princess
I'm not defending the use of AI art, I'm genuinely just curious: What is the moral line drawn between AI art and piracy?
Like, are the same people who watch pirated movies and TV shows onlin
u/Motorhead546
Just like the yellowing on a lot a AI generated pics.
Just because of a f'ing Ghibli ripoff photo app everyone was using at a point.
u/ForgettingFish
Ya…. The piss filter
u/TDP_Wikii
The left and right have failed us creatives. Society has been consumed by consumerism, they would rather go for cheap than good quality goods. ChatGPT is the 5th most popular website and it's
u/Buttons840
AI companies have been banning each other. They all claim you can't train on their AI output while training on the output of other AI companies in violation of the other company's terms. Plen
u/David-J
You're so wrong.
u/snowsuit101
It is meaningful in the EU, the EU AI Act specifically says that although publicly available content can be used to train AI, copyright holders can opt out or reserve their rights for AI trai
u/EC36339
AI training is already a copyright violation. It is already illegal.
u/ForgettingFish
Ya…. The piss filter
u/leopard_tights
lmao this is like camgirls putting a DMCA banner on their video feeds.
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/GloomySchedule3164
Can’t wait to find the “no ai training” in something the AI produces. I’d give it max 3 years
u/Memonlinefelix
Good. No to slop.
u/SoberSeahorse
Should I get that tattooed on my forehead? /s
u/hedgetank
Look, pal, you couldn't stop movie piracy with the stupid FBI warning. So what makes you think this will do anything, either?
u/ErinDotEngineer
Not unless it is Cellular connected...
u/bylebog
That will stop them
u/ErinDotEngineer
It did allow them to go after larger organizations, which is exactly what they are setting up for here.
Sometimes it is also just about the performance, as they are required by law to active
u/Buttons840
You're both right. The company probably did it because it gives them a little political and legal authority, at least politically.
It probably won't matter, but sometimes courts are politic
u/TheUpperHand
Reminds me of the boomers who were posting “I DO NOT GIVE FACEBOOK MY CONSENT TO USE MY DATA.” Just about as effective, at least.
u/serg06
If it's legally meaningless, then why did their law team advise them to add it?
u/leopard_tights
lmao this is like camgirls putting a DMCA banner on their video feeds.
u/Shap6
This is not settled law at all. A court just ruled that AI training on books was legal and transformative for example.
u/bylebog
AI is really just [grey goo.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_goo)
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/Thad_Ivanov
You wouldn't train your AI on a car
u/Wobbly_Princess
The reason I feel doubtful of this is because it feels like there's a general, blanket shaming of using AI across the board. To where I feel like ANY AI art, regardless of profit or not, is g
u/SoberSeahorse
Should I get that tattooed on my forehead? /s
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/JMEEKER86
Wrong. It does not work at all like you said. It breaks it down into tokens, parts essentially, to understand what the tokens look like and what tokens are associated with what other tokens.
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/Killchrono
EU at least forces some weight to be pulled and actually holds companies accountable. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have standardised USB-C ports, or companies forced to give permission
u/ErinDotEngineer
In consultation with their copyright and trademark attorneys they likely were informed to start "posting a lot of notices."
It is very similar to a No Trespassing sign.
It gives them the op
u/Electrical_Pause_860
It’s gonna be hilarious when this is what collapses the bubble. Through a process called distillation you can create a new model by using the output of an existing one.
These companies are
u/Buttons840
It's legally meaningless though. The law does not come from arbitrary disclaimers individuals add to their works.
u/gullydowny
This is pretty funny, meanwhile they're working frantically to automate artists and filmmakers while hoarding our collective mythology and serving it back to us covered in shit. Godspeed Mid
u/Niceguy955
Good luck with that Universal. Facebook just got away with torrenting millions of books. OpenAI openly admits they’re crawling private content. The horses are out of the barn.
u/joeyb908
Yea, but Weird Al isn’t an AI that needs to be trained on content, and the more direct from a source the content he’s trained on better, the higher quality the output.
Weird Al is a human an
u/WheresMyDinner
I do not give Facebook permission to use my photos, information, or posts, both past and future…
u/Buttons840
You're both right. The company probably did it because it gives them a little political and legal authority, at least politically.
It probably won't matter, but sometimes courts are politic
u/JMEEKER86
Nah, doesn't matter, same principle. If you don't want someone to look at and study your stuff then your only choice is to not share it publicly. There's no right to privacy in public. People
u/Buttons840
Heh. Have you seen those posts where the user asks the AI to recreate the same image over and over without changing anything...
... yeah, we're in a big loop of that with all of human knowle
u/ErinDotEngineer
That is coming next week...
u/pinglyadya
That's a big fat incorrect. A multi-million dollar project that is privately circulated with licensing agreements for the exact intent to restrict access, is not in any shape or form, "public
u/ErinDotEngineer
It did allow them to go after larger organizations, which is exactly what they are setting up for here.
Sometimes it is also just about the performance, as they are required by law to active
u/sinus86
Does it tell Open Ai "You wouldn't download a car" ?
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/ErinDotEngineer
All rife with hypocrisy, right?
u/EC36339
AI training is already a copyright violation. It is already illegal.
u/ForgettingFish
The piss filter on so many ai pictures tells me the AI is absolutely being trained on AI
u/WheresMyDinner
I do not give Facebook permission to use my photos, information, or posts, both past and future…
u/PeterNippelstein
Is mayonnaise an AI?
u/TDP_Wikii
The left and right have failed us creatives. Society has been consumed by consumerism, they would rather go for cheap than good quality goods. ChatGPT is the 5th most popular website and it's
u/Buttons840
Heh. Have you seen those posts where the user asks the AI to recreate the same image over and over without changing anything...
... yeah, we're in a big loop of that with all of human knowle
u/Cube00
Perplexity busted using fake user agents to get past blocks.
u/AutoModerator
Unfortunately, this post has been removed. Facebook links are not allowed by /r/technology.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this s
u/jsgnextortex
Yea, cars are one of the earliest things we will probably AI.
u/Mr_McZongo
I misinterpreted the headline and thought this was a notice saying the movie you're about to watch was made with no AI.
Wishful thinking, but there needs a be that kind of disclaimer on mo
u/hedgetank
Look, pal, you couldn't stop movie piracy with the stupid FBI warning. So what makes you think this will do anything, either?
u/TheAnonymousProxy
You wouldn't AI a car, would you?
u/Buttons840
AI companies have been banning each other. They all claim you can't train on their AI output while training on the output of other AI companies in violation of the other company's terms. Plen
u/ErinDotEngineer
They are not looking to stop them at this point, just set themselves for more legal options in the future.
u/Back_pain_no_gain
Good luck with that