Hollywood isn’t happy about the new Seedance 2.0 video generator

The entertainment industry is expressing strong discontent with the recent launch of Seedance 2.0, an AI video generator developed by ByteDance. This new model is under fire for allegedly facilitating copyright violations. ByteDance, known for its popular app TikTok, unveiled Seedance 2.0 earlier this week, initially making it available to users of its Jianying app in China, with plans to extend access to global users of CapCut. Seedance 2.0 allows users to create short videos of up to 15 seconds simply by entering a text prompt. However, similar to other AI tools like OpenAI’s Sora, it has faced backlash for lacking sufficient protections against the unauthorized use of individuals' likenesses and content owned by studios. A notable instance involved a user on social media sharing a video featuring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, reportedly created with just a two-line prompt in Seedance 2.0. This prompted a response from “Deadpool” screenwriter Rhett Reese, who remarked, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.” The Motion Picture Association's CEO, Charles Rivkin, has condemned the service, calling for ByteDance to halt its infringing practices immediately. Rivkin stated that Seedance 2.0 had engaged in widespread unauthorized use of copyrighted material in just one day, emphasizing that the lack of safeguards against infringement undermines the rights of creators and the livelihoods of countless American workers. The Human Artistry Campaign, which is supported by various Hollywood unions and organizations, labeled Seedance 2.0 as a significant threat to creators worldwide. SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, echoed this sentiment, expressing solidarity with studios in denouncing what it termed blatant copyright infringement enabled by ByteDance’s new AI model. Reports indicate that Seedance videos have featured iconic Disney characters like Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Baby Yoda, leading Disney to take legal action. According to Axios, Disney has issued a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging that the company is engaged in a “virtual smash-and-grab” of Disney’s intellectual property by reproducing and distributing content featuring these characters. Despite these issues, Disney has shown openness to collaborating with AI firms, having signed a licensing agreement with OpenAI, while concurrently addressing similar copyright concerns with Google. TechCrunch has reached out to ByteDance for further comments regarding these allegations.