Character.AI pulls Disney characters after a Sept. 18 cease-and-desist letter
Character.AI removed Disney characters from its chatbot platform after a cease-and-desist letter dated Sept. 18, the company said Tuesday. It likens the user-made bots to fan fiction, so the takedown meets Disney's demand without settling the dispute.
The Board Room · Leadership desk
What happened
- A law firm representing Disney sent the letter to Character.AI, and Axios was first to report it.
- User-made chatbots impersonating Princess Elsa, Moana, Peter Parker and Darth Vader were among the Disney characters involved.
- When NBC News searched the platform on Tuesday evening, most Disney lookalike bots appeared to be gone and some returned an error message.
- Separately, Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery sued China's MiniMax this month, Reuters reported, over its Hailuo AI service.
Why it matters
- contradiction Disney's letter charges systematic commercial copying while Character.AI likens the bots to fan fiction, so the removal meets the demand without testing either view.
- exposure A platform that hosts user-built characters is the party that receives the letter and must act on content its users wrote.
- decision Operators of character platforms must decide whether takedown becomes a standing process or an ad hoc reply, and Character.AI's stated interest in partnering shows licensing is one alternative.
The evidence that Character.AI complied quickly is thin, and most of it comes from Character.AI. Its spokesperson said the company responds "swiftly to requests to remove content that rightsholders report to us" [5]. The only outside check is NBC's search on Tuesday evening [8]. NBC's report does not say when the removal began or whether the letter set a deadline, and a Disney spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment [9].
Character.AI did not accept Disney's account of what the bots were. The letter, dated Sept. 18, states that "In sum, Character.ai chose to systematically reproduce, monetize, and exploit Disney's characters, that are protected by copyrights and trademarks, without any authorization, in a way that is anathema to the very essence of the Disney brand and legacy" [4]. A Character.AI spokesperson answered that "Some of those characters are original creations, and some are inspired by existing characters that people love," and said: "It's like fan fiction, but in an interactive form." [7]
We think compliance cost Character.AI little. Removing characters a rightsholder objects to fits a company that says it wants "to partner with the industry and rightsholders to empower them to bring their characters to our platform" [10], and that describes its goal as giving IP owners tools for "controlled, engaging and revenue-generating experiences" [10].
The studios' other tools run through court. Warner Bros. Discovery sued Midjourney this month, after Disney and Universal filed a similar suit in June [12], so three studios have now sued that company [14]. The Midjourney and MiniMax suits allege that the products themselves were built on studio material [11][12]. The Character.AI letter targets specific characters. We'd expect a letter to work best where the disputed material can be removed item by item, as in a catalogue of bots.
Platforms that host user-built characters face a decision this quarter. Character.AI offers premade and user-created characters and lets users customize their own [13], so a letter addressed to the platform lands on content its users wrote. The choice is whether takedown becomes a standing process or stays a one-off reply. The consequence arrives next quarter, when the next rightsholder letter finds whichever one exists.
What to watch
- Whether Disney comments on the removal or says the takedown is complete, since NBC found most but not all lookalike bots gone.
- Whether Character.AI and any rightsholder announce a licensing arrangement, given its stated aim to partner with IP owners.
- Whether other studios send similar letters to chatbot platforms, or keep to the court route taken against MiniMax and Midjourney.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence68
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap−10
- Incentives60
- Confidence65
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Character.AI said Tuesday that it has removed Disney characters from its chatbot platform after the studio asked the developer to stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization.
- [2]
Disney's cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI is dated Sept. 18, according to a copy obtained and reviewed by NBC News.
- [3]
The letter was sent to Character.AI by a law firm representing Disney, and Axios was first to report it.
- [4]
The letter states: "In sum, Character.ai chose to systematically reproduce, monetize, and exploit Disney's characters, that are protected by copyrights and trademarks, without any authorization, in a way that is anathema to the very essence of the Disney brand and legacy,"
- [5]
A Character.AI spokesperson said the company responds "swiftly to requests to remove content that rightsholders report to us. The takedown ... was in response to such a request. These characters have been removed."
- [6]
Princess Elsa from "Frozen," Moana, Spider-Man alter ego Peter Parker and Star Wars villain Darth Vader were among the user-made Disney characters chatbots impersonated.
- [7]
A Character.AI spokesperson said: "Some of those characters are original creations, and some are inspired by existing characters that people love. It's like fan fiction, but in an interactive form."
- [8]
As of Tuesday evening, when NBC News searched for the character names on the platform, most bots resembling Disney's copyrighted characters seemed to have been removed, and some previously available characters returned the error message "Something went wrong. Please refresh or try again later."
- [9]
A spokesperson for Disney did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.
- [10]
A Character.AI spokesperson said: "We want to partner with the industry and rightsholders to empower them to bring their characters to our platform," and that its goal is to give IP owners the tools to create "controlled, engaging and revenue-generating experiences" for their characters and stories.
- [11]
Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery sued China's MiniMax for copyright infringement this month, Reuters reported, claiming its Hailuo AI image- and video-generating service was built from intellectual property stolen from the studios.
- [12]
Warner Bros. Discovery sued Midjourney this month, accusing it of building its business around the mass theft of content; Disney and Universal made similar accusations in a lawsuit against Midjourney filed in June.
- [13]
Character.AI offers a selection of premade or user-created AI characters, and users can also customize their own chatbots.
- [14]
Three studios (Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery) have now sued Midjourney.
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Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- nbcnews.comcease-and-desist letter
1 article · October 14, 2026
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