Hollywood organizations are mounting a significant challenge against Seedance 2.0, a new artificial intelligence video model they contend has rapidly become a conduit for "blatant" copyright infringement.
The Chinese technology giant ByteDance, which recently finalized the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations while retaining a stake in the new joint venture, launched Seedance 2.0 earlier this week. The Wall Street Journal reported that the enhanced model is currently accessible to users of ByteDance's Jianying app in China, with plans for a global rollout via its CapCut app in the near future.
Operating similarly to other advanced tools like OpenAI’s Sora, Seedance enables users to generate videos, currently limited to 15 seconds, merely by inputting a text prompt. Much like Sora, Seedance quickly attracted criticism for what appears to be a notable absence of safeguards concerning the creation of videos that replicate the likeness of real individuals or exploit studios’ intellectual property.
The immediate capabilities of the AI were starkly highlighted when an X user shared a brief video depicting Tom Cruise battling Brad Pitt, claiming it was produced with just "a 2 line prompt in seedance 2." This prompted "Deadpool" screenwriter Rhett Reese to respond with a grim assessment: “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”
In response to the escalating concerns, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) swiftly released a statement through its CEO, Charles Rivkin, demanding that ByteDance “immediately cease its infringing activity.”
Rivkin articulated the gravity of the situation, stating, “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.” He further emphasized, “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.”
The condemnation extended across the industry, with the Human Artistry Campaign, an initiative supported by various Hollywood unions and trade groups, denouncing Seedance 2.0 as “an attack on every creator around the world.” Similarly, the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA affirmed it “stands with the studios in condemning the blatant infringement enabled by Bytedance’s new AI video model Seedance 2.0.”
Reports indicate that Seedance videos have prominently featured Disney-owned characters such as Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Grogu (also known as Baby Yoda), leading Disney to pursue legal action. Axios reported that Disney dispatched a cease-and-desist letter, accusing ByteDance of a “virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s IP” and alleging that the Chinese company is “hijacking Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters.”
It's important to note that Disney's stance is not inherently against collaborating with AI companies; while it has reportedly issued a similar cease-and-desist letter to Google concerning comparable issues, the company has simultaneously entered into a three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI.
Variety subsequently reported that Paramount has also issued a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance. Paramount's letter asserted that “much of the content that the Seed Platforms produce contains vivid depictions of Paramount’s famous and iconic franchises and characters” and that this content “is often indistinguishable, both visually and audibly” from Paramount’s original films and television series.
TechCrunch has reached out to ByteDance for official comment regarding these developments.
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