The debate about how AI impacts the world of entertainment has been ongoing. Streamers have started using it to assist content development, and AI-generated photos and clips are starting to look more and more realistic. Now, Universal is trying to get ahead of things by protecting its copyrighted material from being used to train AI. The studio has decided to become aggressive with its protection tactics, and one of its films on the 2025 movie schedule, How to Train Your Dragon, offers a warning to big tech.
In an article by The Hollywood Reporter, the publication chronicles Hollywood’s ongoing battle with AI using licensed content to train, infringing on laws that protect copyrighted material. This comes after Universal and Disney filed a lawsuit against the AI company Midjourney for stealing intellectual property for training. Universal is considering any of its properties being used to train AI models to be theft, and starting with How to Train Your Dragon, it has begun to put warnings at the end of their films. The warning states:
This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.
Some warnings in countries outside of the United States also cite a 2019 law in the European Union where studios can decide that their material can't be used for scientific research. How To Train Your Dragon isn’t the only film offering this warning, even if it was the first film to do it. Universal’s box office hit, Jurassic World: Rebirth and The Bad Guys 2 also have the same statement in the credits, showing that the studio is serious about protecting its intellectual property, and sees AI as an infringement on this.
While this may be a measure used to prevent AI from completely taking over the filmmaking world, it still feels unstoppable, despite Ben Affleck’s claims that it's not something to worry about. THR revealed the AI-based platform Showrunner is being shopped around to major investors and streamers, which would allow fans to insert their own episodes and characters into existing films and TV shows. The first AI-generated film is also being shopped around.
Netflix feels like it’s ahead of the game, and has stated that artificial intelligence use was inevitable to lower budgets after the platform’s new show, The Eternaut used AI to assist the generation of VFX.
I see this Universal copyright warning as a positive, as it hopefully forces more conversations about copyright protections, and where the use of AI starts violating this. The AI takeover continues to be a problem plaguing Hollywood that is constantly debated, and we will have to wait and see if these legal warnings in Universal’s movies actually work as protection from AI.
You can see Universal’s 2025 release, How To Train Your Dragon, now, as the film is still playing in theaters nationwide and is available to purchase on VOD at home as well. You can also revisit the original animated How to Train Your Dragon, by renting it on Amazon. We will continue to follow this story as AI becomes more prevalent in entertainment.
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