ByteDance’s new AI video model Seedance 2.0 appears on your smartphone screen.
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Chinese tech giant ByteDance has announced tougher protections for its new artificial intelligence video creation tool following accusations of copyright theft from the entertainment giant.
The Seedance 2.0 tool allows users to create realistic videos based on text prompts. But a viral video shared online appears to show the likeness of copyrighted characters and celebrities, raising intellectual property concerns in the US.
“ByteDance respects intellectual property rights and has heard your concerns about SeaDance 2.0,” a company spokesperson said in a statement shared with CNBC.
“We are taking steps to strengthen our current safeguards to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property and likeness by our users,” the spokesperson added.
ByteDance’s response comes after backlash and stern warnings from Hollywood organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPA), the trade group that represents major Hollywood studios. Netflix, paramount skydance, sony, universal, warner bros discovery and disney.
The group issued a strong public statement over the weekend, demanding ByteDance immediately stop what it called “infringing activity.”
“In a single day, Chinese AI service Seadance 2.0 committed massive misappropriation of U.S. copyrighted material,” MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin said in a statement.
“By launching its service without meaningful protections against copyright infringement, ByteDance is ignoring established copyright laws that protect the rights of creators and support millions of American jobs.”
Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance on Friday, accusing the company of distributing and reproducing its intellectual property without permission through new AI tools, Axios reported.
The legal notice alleges that ByteDance effectively packaged a pirated library of copyrighted characters into Seedance and depicted them as if they were public domain clip art. ” the report added.
Disney has sent cease and desist letters to AI companies in the past. In September, the company warned AI startup Character.AI to stop unauthorized use of its copyrighted characters.
While working to protect its intellectual property, Disney signed a licensing agreement with and invested in OpenAI. The deal will allow the AI company to use Disney characters from Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel series in its Sora video generator.
Variety reported over the weekend that Paramount Skydance has made similar accusations and sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance.
