Disney Sends Cease-and-Desist to ByteDance Over AI Video Tool Seedance 2.0

Feb 15 (GeokHub) — ByteDance has pledged to strengthen safeguards on its AI video generator Seedance 2.0 following legal threats from major U.S. film studios, including The Walt Disney Company, over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted characters.

The dispute centers on Seedance 2.0, an AI-powered video creation tool launched last week that quickly went viral in China for generating cinematic scenes from simple text prompts. Some AI-generated clips featured likenesses of Hollywood actors and well-known fictional characters, drawing scrutiny from rights holders.

Allegations of Copyright Infringement

Disney has issued a cease-and-desist letter accusing ByteDance of using copyrighted characters without authorization to train or power the Seedance model. According to individuals familiar with the matter, the complaint alleges that the tool was bundled with a library of recognizable characters from major franchises, portraying them in a way that suggested public-domain status.

Among the characters reportedly cited were Spider-Man and Darth Vader — properties linked to Disney-owned franchises such as Marvel and Star Wars. The letter claims the platform enabled the reproduction, distribution, and creation of derivative works based on these intellectual properties.

ByteDance responded by stating it is taking steps to reinforce existing protections to prevent unauthorized use of intellectual property and personal likenesses. The company did not provide detailed information on the measures being implemented.

Growing Legal Pressure on AI Platforms

The controversy highlights intensifying legal tensions between AI developers and content creators as generative tools become more sophisticated.

Another major studio, Paramount Global, has also reportedly sent a legal notice alleging infringement of its intellectual property.

Disney has previously taken action against AI startups over similar concerns. In contrast, the company entered a licensing agreement in December with OpenAI, allowing certain characters from its franchises to be used in OpenAI’s Sora video generator under formal terms.

AI Innovation vs. IP Protection

Seedance 2.0 has been compared by some industry observers to other advanced Chinese AI models for its ability to generate highly cinematic sequences with minimal prompts. However, the rapid evolution of AI-generated content continues to raise legal and ethical questions around copyright, character likeness, and training data transparency.

As global regulators and entertainment companies step up scrutiny, the outcome of this dispute could shape how AI firms manage copyrighted material and licensing agreements going forward.