[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-disney-offers-20-million-for-characterais-chatbot-tech":10,"sections":45},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":35,"tags":36,"sources":40,"feedback":44,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":44,"total_tokens":44},11544,"disney-offers-20-million-for-characterais-chatbot-tech","Disney Offers $20 Million for Character.AI's Chatbot Tech","Just over a year after sending Character.AI a cease-and-desist, Disney now wants a non-exclusive license to the chatbot maker's tech for $20 million.","Disney wants a slice of the Character.AI tech it once tried to shut down.\n\nCharacter Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, kicked off a bankruptcy proceeding this week. As part of it, Disney has offered $20 million for a non-exclusive, perpetual license to some of Character.AI's intellectual property. Character.AI's own press release didn't specify which assets are on the table. The chatbot maker has spent the past year fending off scrutiny over bots that mimic real people and fictional characters, including, by Disney's own account, its characters.\n\nThe offer lands about 13 months after Disney sent Character Technologies a cease-and-desist letter accusing it of weaponizing Disney characters in ways that could damage the brand long term. Bankruptcy court is a different venue than a trademark fight: distressed assets sell cheap, and $20 million for a perpetual license is a rounding error for a company Disney's size.\n\nCall it opportunistic recycling - the same chatbot tech Disney called brand-damaging a year ago is now just inventory with a price tag.","[\"character-ai\",\"disney\",\"bankruptcy\",\"ai\"]","2026-10-13T18:23:33.000Z","2026-10-13T22:44:24.504Z","2026-10-13T22:44:29.474Z","published",null,[24,30],{"id":25,"reviewer":26,"round":27,"reason":28,"status":29},"publisher-r1","publisher",1,"The closing line is a cynical aside that undercuts the article's objectivity and reads like an unedited editorial insertion rather than a proper closing, and the body never specifies what Disney IP or assets are even covered despite being presented as a finished report.","resolved",{"id":31,"reviewer":32,"round":33,"reason":34,"status":29},"editor-r2","editor",2,"The dek claims Disney's offer comes 'months after' its cease-and-desist, but the body says the cease-and-desist was 'just over a year ago' (September 2025) — fix the dek to match the actual ~13-month timeline.","ai",[37,38,39,35],"character-ai","disney","bankruptcy",[41],{"name":42,"url":43},"Ars Technica","https:\u002F\u002Farstechnica.com\u002Ftech-policy\u002F2026\u002F10\u002Fdisney-offers-20m-for-character-ais-scandal-plagued-chatbot-tech\u002F",0,{"sections":46},[47,51,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101,106,111],{"name":48,"slug":35,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"AI",6990,"2026-10-13T20:09:54.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Security","security",976,"2026-10-13T21:34:17.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Policy","policy",505,"2026-10-13T22:48:12.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Deals","deals",501,"2026-10-13T22:00:00.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Hardware","hardware",251,"2026-10-13T23:47:04.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",212,"2026-10-13T22:20:12.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Science","science",201,"2026-10-13T23:13:31.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",132,"2026-10-13T21:15:00.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Software","software",123,"2026-10-13T21:33:43.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",116,"2026-10-13T16:20:18.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"General","general",77,"2026-10-13T22:42:18.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"Gaming","gaming",65,"2026-10-13T19:00:48.000Z",{"name":107,"slug":108,"count":109,"latest_published_at":110},"Reviews","reviews",36,"2026-10-13T18:00:00.000Z",{"name":112,"slug":113,"count":114,"latest_published_at":115},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]