Seedance 2.0 AI Rattles Hollywood

Hollywood organizations are intensifying their opposition to Seedance 2.0, a new artificial intelligence video model they contend has rapidly become a vehicle for "blatant" copyright infringement.

ByteDance, the China-based technology firm which recently finalized a deal to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations while retaining a stake in the new joint venture, unveiled Seedance 2.0 earlier this week. According to the Wall Street Journal, the updated AI model is currently accessible to Chinese users via ByteDance’s Jianying application and is slated for an imminent global rollout on its CapCut app.

Operating similarly to other generative AI tools like OpenAI’s Sora, Seedance enables users to produce short videos, currently capped at 15 seconds, by simply inputting a text prompt. Much like Sora, Seedance swiftly attracted criticism for an apparent absence of robust safeguards against the creation of content featuring the likeness of real individuals or utilizing studios' proprietary intellectual property.

The perceived threat was underscored when an X user shared a brief video depicting Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt, claiming it was generated by "a 2 line prompt in seedance 2." In response, "Deadpool" screenwriter Rhett Reese starkly commented, "I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us."

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) quickly issued a formal statement through its CEO, Charles Rivkin, demanding that ByteDance "immediately cease its infringing activity."

Rivkin asserted, "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."

Further condemnation came from the Human Artistry Campaign, an initiative supported by prominent Hollywood unions and trade groups, which denounced Seedance 2.0 as "an attack on every creator around the world." The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA echoed these sentiments, stating 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-generated videos have featured characters owned by Disney, including Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Grogu (popularly known as Baby Yoda), prompting the entertainment giant to take 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 asserting that the Chinese company is "hijacking Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters."

It is important to note that Disney is not inherently opposed to collaboration with AI companies; while it has reportedly sent a similar cease-and-desist letter to Google concerning related issues, the company has also entered into a three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI.

TechCrunch has reached out to ByteDance for an official comment regarding these allegations.