ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動) will take steps to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property on its artificial intelligence (AI) video generator Seedance 2.0, the Chinese technology firm said yesterday, following threats of legal action from US studios, including Walt Disney Co.
Videos generated by Seedance 2.0, which was released last week, have gone viral in China including one of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a fight.
The AI model has been compared to DeepSeek (深度求索) and has been praised for its ability to produce cinematic storylines with just a few prompts.
Photo: EPA
However, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance accusing the Chinese firm of using Disney characters to train and power Seedance 2.0 without permission, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters late on Sunday.
Disney said ByteDance had pre-packaged Seedance with a pirated library of copyrighted characters from franchises including Star Wars and Marvel, portraying them as if they were public-domain clip art, the person said.
The letter said Seedance was reproducing, distributing and creating derivative works featuring Spider-Man, Darth Vader and other characters, the person added.
“We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users,” ByteDance said in its statement.
It did not elaborate on the measures it was taking.
Online news outlet Axios was the first to report on Disney’s move. Paramount Skydance Corp has also sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, accusing the Chinese firm of engaging in “blatant infringement” of its intellectual property, Variety reported over the weekend.
Disney has taken similar actions against Character.AI, demanding that the start-up immediately stop the unauthorized use of its copyrighted characters.
In December last year, Disney signed a licensing deal with OpenAI, letting the start-up use characters from Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel franchises in its Sora video generator.
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