Los Angeles-based startup Moonvalley has launched an AI video-generating model it claims is one of the few trained on openly licensed — not copyrighted — data.
Named “Marey” after cinema trailblazer Étienne-Jules Marey, the model was built in collaboration with Asteria, a newer AI animation studio. Marey was trained on “owned or fully licensed” source data, according to Moonvalley, and offers customization options including fine-grained camera and motion controls.
“Marey enables nuanced control over in-scene movements,” Moonvalley wrote in a press release provided to TechCrunch, “such as controlling the movement of an individual checkers piece, or animating the exact breeze blowing through a person’s hair.”
The wide availability of tools to build video generators has led to a Cambrian explosion of vendors in the space. In fact, it risks becoming oversaturated. Startups such as Runway and Luma, as well as tech giants like OpenAI and Google, are releasing models at a fast clip — in many cases with little to distinguish them from each other.
Moonvalley is pitching Marey, which can generate “HD” clips up to 30 seconds in length, as lower risk than competitors from a legal perspective.
Many generative video startups train models on public data, some of which is invariably copyrighted. These companies argue that fair-use doctrine shields the practice. But that hasn’t stopped rights owners from lodging complaints and filing cease and desists.
Moonvalley says it’s working with partners to handle licensing arrangements and package videos into datasets that the company then purchases. The approach is similar to Adobe’s, which also procures video footage for training from creators through its Adobe Stock platform.
Many artists and creators are wary of video generators, and understandably so — they threaten to upend the film and television industry. A 2024 study commissioned by the Animation Guild, a union representing Hollywood animators and cartoonists, estimates that more than 100,000 U.S.-based film, television, and animation jobs will be disrupted by AI by 2026.
Moonvalley intends to let creators request their content be removed from its models, allow customers to delete their data at any time, and offer an indemnity policy to protect users from copyright challenges.
Unlike some “unfiltered” video models that readily insert a person’s likeness into clips, Moonvalley is also committing to building guardrails around its creative tooling. Like OpenAI’s Sora, Moonvalley’s models will block certain content, like NSFW phrases, and won’t allow people to prompt them to generate videos of specific people or celebrities.
“We’re proving it’s possible to train AI models without brazenly stealing creative work from the creators
— the cinematographers, visual artists, creators, and creative producers — whose voices we aim to uplift
with our technology,” Moonvalley co-founder and CEO Naeem Talukdar said in a statement. “At Moonvalley, we’re setting a new standard for generative AI to deliver industry-leading AI capabilities while ensuring that the voices and rights of creatives are not lost as this technology and industry evolve.”
