On Friday, Disney issued a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance regarding its new generative AI video tool, Seedance 2.0. The media giant alleges that the Chinese parent company of TikTok has infringed upon its creative works to train the new model.
The letter, initially reviewed and reported by Axios, accuses ByteDance of treating its copyrighted Disney characters as if they were public domain. The communication further asserts that Seedance 2.0 encompasses a “pirated library” filled with assets from Disney’s most prominent franchises, including Star Wars and Marvel.
“In blatant disregard of Disney’s well-known objections, ByteDance is appropriating Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and developing derivative works featuring those characters,” stated David Singer, Disney’s attorney from Jenner & Block LLC. “ByteDance’s virtual theft of Disney’s intellectual property is both egregious and totally unacceptable.”
The letter went on to declare: “We believe this to be merely the beginning—a shocking revelation given that Seedance has only been publicly available for a few days.”
Released this week, the generative AI model has ignited considerable backlash within the industry. Aside from Disney assets, Seedance 2.0 has also produced videos utilizing elements from “The Lord of the Rings” and the likenesses of prominent Hollywood stars, including Will Smith, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise.
Both SAG-AFTRA and the MPA have issued statements condemning Seedance 2.0 since its launch.
“SAG-AFTRA stands united with studios in denouncing the blatant infringement facilitated by ByteDance’s new AI video model, Seedance 2.0,” a spokesperson for the actors’ union remarked. “This infringement includes the unauthorized use of our members’ voices and appearances, which undermines the ability of human talent to earn a living. Seedance 2.0 flouts legal, ethical, and industry standards, disregarding fundamental principles of consent. Responsible AI development must embrace accountability, a principle utterly absent here.”
The Motion Picture Association criticized Seedance 2.0 on Thursday following an AI-generated fight scene featuring Pitt and Cruise, accusing the company of “disregarding” copyright laws and urging it to “stop its infringing actions.”
“In just one day, the Seedance 2.0 AI service from China has engaged in unauthorized utilization of U.S. copyrighted works on a colossal scale,” remarked Charles Rivkin, MPA chairman and CEO. “By launching a service lacking meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is ignoring established copyright laws that protect creators’ rights and sustain millions of American jobs. ByteDance must halt its infringing activities immediately.”
This is not Disney’s first encounter with cease-and-desist notices aimed at tech and AI companies. Last December, Disney issued a letter to Google, claiming that the tech giant was committing copyright infringement on a grand scale by harnessing its advantageous position in generative AI to commercially exploit infringing images and videos featuring Disney characters.
This action followed similar cease-and-desist warnings that Disney sent to Meta and Character.AI, and it occurred as the company, along with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery, began litigation against Midjourney and MiniMax.
At the same time, Disney is exploring opportunities in AI, having taken a $1 billion stake in OpenAI, with plans to license its characters for OpenAI’s Sora video platform in early 2026. These characters—though not the actors who portray or voice them—will also be accessible for ChatGPT’s image-generation tools, and curated Sora-generated videos are set to be streamed on Disney+, with OpenAI assisting in the development of new features across the service.
