Key Hollywood entities are criticizing a new AI video model, Seedance 2.0, asserting it is being rapidly exploited for overt copyright violations.
This week, ByteDance, the Chinese corporation that recently completed the sale of TikTok’s U.S. division (while still holding an interest in the new partnership), introduced Seedance 2.0. The Wall Street Journal reports that this enhanced model is presently accessible to users of ByteDance’s Jianying app in China, with plans for a global release via its CapCut app.
Much like AI tools such as OpenAI’s Sora, Seedance enables users to generate videos (presently capped at 15 seconds) simply by inputting a text prompt. However, similar to Sora, Seedance swiftly faced criticism due to a perceived absence of safeguards concerning the creation of videos featuring real individuals’ likenesses and studios’ intellectual property.
Following an X user’s viral post of a short video depicting Tom Cruise engaging Brad Pitt, reportedly generated with “a 2 line prompt in seedance 2,” Rhett Reese, screenwriter for “Deadpool,” reacted with the stark comment, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”
The Motion Picture Association promptly released a statement via CEO Charles Rivkin, urging ByteDance to “immediately halt its infringing actions.”
Rivkin stated, “Within merely one day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has extensively utilized U.S. copyrighted material without authorization.” He added, “By introducing a service devoid of substantial infringement protections, ByteDance is neglecting established copyright legislation that safeguards creators’ rights and supports millions of American livelihoods.”
The Human Artistry Campaign, an effort supported by various Hollywood unions and trade associations, denounced Seedance 2.0 as “an attack on every creator around the world,” concurrently, the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union declared its solidarity with studios in “condemning the blatant infringement enabled by Bytedance’s new AI video model Seedance 2.0.”
Videos generated by Seedance have reportedly included Disney-owned characters like Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Grogu (Baby Yoda), leading Disney to initiate legal measures. Axios indicates that Disney has issued a cease-and-desist letter, accusing ByteDance of a “virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s IP” and asserting that the Chinese firm is “hijacking Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters.”
While Disney has reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google for comparable infringements, the company is not inherently against collaborating with AI firms, evidenced by its three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI.
Variety states that Paramount also issued a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance on Saturday. This 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 material “is often indistinguishable, both visually and audibly” from Paramount’s cinematic and television productions.
TechCrunch has sought a statement from ByteDance.
Initially published on February 14, 2026, this article has been updated with details regarding Paramount’s cease-and-desist letter.