Hollywood organizations are pushing back against a new AI video model called Seedance 2.0, which they say has quickly become a tool for blatant copyright infringement. ByteDance, the Chinese company that recently finalized a deal to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations, launched Seedance 2.0 earlier this week. According to reports, the updated model is currently available to Chinese users of ByteDance’s Jianying app, and the company says it will soon be available to global users of its CapCut app.
Similar to tools such as OpenAI’s Sora, Seedance allows users to create videos, currently limited to 15 seconds in length, by just entering a text prompt. And like Sora, Seedance quickly drew criticism for an apparent lack of guardrails around the ability to create videos using the likeness of real people, as well as studios’ intellectual property.
After one social media user posted a brief video showing Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt, which they said was created by a two-line prompt in Seedance 2, screenwriter Rhett Reese responded by saying, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”
The Motion Picture Association soon issued a statement from CEO Charles Rivkin demanding that ByteDance immediately cease its infringing activity. Rivkin stated that in a single day, the service had engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale. He accused ByteDance of launching a service without meaningful safeguards against infringement, disregarding copyright law that protects creators and underpins millions of American jobs.
The Human Artistry Campaign, an initiative backed by Hollywood unions and trade groups, condemned Seedance 2.0 as an attack on every creator around the world. The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA said it stands with the studios in condemning the blatant infringement enabled by ByteDance’s new AI video model.
Seedance videos have apparently featured Disney-owned characters such as Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Grogu, better known as Baby Yoda, prompting the company to take legal action. Reports indicate that Disney has sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing ByteDance of a virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s intellectual property. The letter claims the Chinese company is hijacking Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring them.
Disney isn’t necessarily opposed to working with AI companies. While it has reportedly sent a similar cease-and-desist letter to Google, it has also signed a three-year licensing deal with OpenAI.