Seedance launched the 2.0 version of its generative AI video creation tool on Thursday. By Friday, Disney had issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Chinese company – a subsidiary of TikTok owners, ByteDance.
Referring to it as a, “Next-generation video creation model,” Seedance describes the tool as, “Built with a unified multimodal audio-video joint generation architecture, Seedance 2.0 supports four input modalities: text, image, audio, and video. It integrates the industry’s most comprehensive set of multimodal content references and editing capabilities available today.”
The company explained the update from version 1.5 offers, “A higher usability rate for complex interaction and motion scenes, with significant improvements in physical accuracy, visual realism, and controllability.” Sounds good. What’s the problem?
The end of that paragraph sent Hollywood into meltdown over the description: “Highly tailored for industrial-grade creation scenarios.” Who needs the movie making machine if anyone can type in prompts to see the films they want to see – and not the ones the industry wants to sell them?
“With the launch of Seedance 2.0, AI video generation has officially matured into a professional-grade productivity tool. No longer just a novelty for experimentation, it has become an essential engine for advertising agencies, film pre-visualization, and independent content creators.”
AI video generation has officially matured into a professional-grade productivity tool
Seedance
Cruise/Pitt fight goes viral
The release may have gone relatively unchallenged, were it not for action videos of superstars recreated entirely in Seedance going viral on social media. The highest profile of these sees box office royalty Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a rooftop (pictured). We won’t share the video here, but it’s easy to find online – although the original post on X by Ruairi Robinson appears to have been taken down.
That post prompted Deadpool writer/producer Rhett Reese to observe, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”
Don’t mess with the mouse
Other videos created using Seedance 2.0 included the Spiderman and Darth Vader characters; both owned by Disney. Which prompted the brand to issue a cease-and-desist letter – as first reported by Axios – saying, “ByteDance’s virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s IP is willful, pervasive, and totally unacceptable.” Disney previously engaged with Google over similar complaints.
Disney’s action was followed the day after by a letter from Paramount. As reported by Variety, Paramount asserts that Seedance engages in, “Blatant infringement” of its IP, perhaps begrudgingly admitting that the results generated by Seedance 2.0, “Is often indistinguishable, both visually and audibly,” from Paramount’s properties.
Seedance 2.0, “Is often indistinguishable, both visually and audibly”
Paramount
The letter goes on to note that, “ByteDance’s infringing activities appear not only to be continuing but becoming more prevalent and the unlawful outputs more widely disseminated.”
Organisationally speaking
The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists issued a statement on Friday saying, “SAG-AFTRA stands with the studios in condemning the blatant infringement enabled by Bytedance’s new AI video model Seedance 2.0. The infringement includes the unauthorized use of our members’ voices and likenesses. This is unacceptable and undercuts the ability of human talent to earn a livelihood. Seedance 2.0 disregards law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent. Responsible AI development demands responsibility, and that is nonexistent here.”
Responsible AI development demands responsibility, and that is nonexistent here
SAG-AFTRA
The Motion Picture Association said, “Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale. By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs. ByteDance should immediately cease its infringing activity.”
The Human Artistry Campaign said, “The launch of Seedance 2.0 is an attack on every creator around the world. Stealing human creators’ work in an attempt to replace them with AI-generated slop is destructive to our culture: stealing isn’t innovation.”
Strengthening safeguards
Today, ByteDance told the BBC that the company, “Respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0.” They go on to say, “We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users.”
Postscript
At the time of writing, Super Mario is still driving his kart right there on the Seedance homepage…
