Billlie's agency, Mystic Story, has denied accusations that the girl group's new AI‑assisted animated video plagiarized a French student film, even as Paris animation school GOBELINS says it is preparing legal action.
Mystic Story issued a new statement this week rejecting claims that Billlie's comeback art film "cartography of the unconscious" copied the 2025 French short film "Niccolò."
The agency said an internal review found "no deliberate plagiarism" in the AI‑assisted video, which was used to promote the track "$ECRET NO MORE" from the group's upcoming first full album, "The Collective Soul and Unconscious: chapter Two," according to Allkpop.
Legal Steps Against Billie's Agency
Despite this, GOBELINS Paris confirmed it is evaluating legal steps after former students alleged that their graduation film was used as source material without consent.
The controversy began after co‑creators of "Niccolò," who recently graduated from GOBELINS, publicly claimed that their film had been used to generate what they called an "AI slop music video."
They argued that key visual motifs and the dark, European‑style animation of their short appeared in Billlie's art film without credit or permission.
According to posts shared in fan communities, the students asked GOBELINS to support them, and the school, in turn, announced it was backing potential legal action on their behalf.
Industry animators from major studios such as Disney and Pixar have reportedly expressed support for the students online, framing the dispute as part of a wider debate about AI tools and artistic theft.
Mystic Story previously faced criticism after the company's CEO defended the artistic use of AI for Billlie's project before later promising to avoid "unnecessary" AI in future work, Asian Junkie reported.
In its latest response, the agency insisted the video was created as an original piece and said there was no intention to exploit AI to undercut human artists. Still, the company temporarily restricted access to the "cartography of the unconscious" video on some platforms following the backlash, intensifying public scrutiny.
GOBELINS says it is still reviewing legal options, and no formal lawsuit has yet been announced. If the case proceeds, it could become an important test of how copyright law treats AI‑assisted works that closely resemble existing animation.
Fans, artists, and educators are now watching both the agency and the school for further statements as Billlie's album release approaches, as per Soompi.
