Chinese tech giant ByteDance has committed to strengthening safeguards for its controversial AI video generation tool Seedance 2.0 following a barrage of cease-and-desist letters from major Hollywood studios and condemnation from industry guilds, according to BBC News.
The TikTok parent company told BBC on Monday that it “respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0,” adding that it is “taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users.”
Variety has reached out to ByteDance about what safeguards are being put in place.
The pledge comes after Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter Friday accusing ByteDance of conducting a “virtual smash-and-grab” of the Mouse House’s IP, alleging the platform had pre-loaded Seedance with what it characterized as a “pirated library” of copyrighted characters from Marvel, Star Wars and other Disney franchises. The letter claims ByteDance is treating coveted Disney IP “as if Disney’s coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art.”
Paramount followed suit Saturday with its own cease-and-desist, targeting both Seedance and ByteDance’s Seedream image generator. Gabriel Miller, Paramount Skydance’s head of intellectual property, accused the company of “blatant infringement” of properties including “South Park,” “Star Trek,” “The Godfather,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Dora the Explorer” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
The Motion Picture Association, representing Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount, Netflix and other major studios, issued a strongly worded statement Thursday demanding ByteDance “immediately cease its infringing activity.”
“In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale,” said MPA chair and CEO Charles Rivkin. “By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs.”
SAG-AFTRA condemned what it called “blatant infringement” that includes “the unauthorized use of our members’ voices and likenesses.” The guild added: “This is unacceptable and undercuts the ability of human talent to earn a livelihood.”
The Human Artistry Campaign, a coalition backed by Hollywood unions and creative organizations, characterized the platform as “an attack on every creator around the world.”
Launched Feb. 12, Seedance 2.0 generates 15-second video clips from text prompts, similar to OpenAI’s Sora. The platform has drawn praise for its realism but quickly sparked controversy as users posted AI-generated content featuring recognizable Hollywood properties.
Among the most widely circulated examples was a video posted by filmmaker and VFX artist Rauiri Robinson showing ‘Tom Cruise’ and ‘Brad Pitt’ fighting on a rooftop, which went viral last week and prompted the MPA’s initial condemnation Thursday.
Other videos circulating online purportedly created with the tool include Star Wars characters Anakin Skywalker and Rey engaged in lightsaber combat, and Spider-Man battling Captain America in New York, according to BBC News and multiple trade reports.
The controversy has extended beyond Hollywood. The Japanese government has launched an investigation into potential copyright violations after AI-generated videos of popular anime characters appeared online, BBC News reported.
ByteDance has not disclosed what training data powers Seedance, though the company previously said it had paused the ability for users to upload images of real people.