MiniMax H3, a large video model developed by Xiyu Technology, has been open-sourced and is capable of competing with ByteDance's Seedance. However, this open-source initiative has drawn an unexpected boundary - users from the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and South Korea are explicitly excluded from the license. A single open-source agreement has barred Americans, which quickly sparked complaints within the community, with some people complaining that even downloading has become a luxury.
Facing criticism, Ryan Lee, the head of developer relations at Xiyu Technology, explained the reasons on X: restricting American users stems from the company's ongoing litigation with major Hollywood studios over generative video copyright. American users are not entirely shut out; if they wish to deploy H3, they can formally apply for authorization, but must commit to establishing a content compliance mechanism that meets U.S. legal and regulatory requirements.
The background of this lawsuit is not complicated. In the past, major Hollywood studios such as Disney, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Discovery sued MiniMax, accusing it of using copyrighted content without permission to train its Helo AI model, and generating well-known characters from works such as Marvel and "Star Wars." In May of this year, a U.S. court rejected MiniMax's request to dismiss the case, and the case is still ongoing.
In other words, this restriction is not a geopolitical conspiracy as many speculate, but rather a defensive move driven by real legal risks. To avoid getting deeper into the courtroom across the ocean, Xiyu Technology chose to draw clear boundaries in the licensing terms. Ultimately, it is the U.S. lawsuit that limits Americans' ability to use MiniMax H3 - want to download it? Yes, but first you need to take on the responsibility of compliance yourself.
