NEWS: Disney Accuses ByteDance of "Hijacking" Characters in Cease and Desist Letter

Tension is rising as AI continues to develop!

©Capcut

It was just reported that Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to China’s ByteDance for stocking its new AI platform, Seedance 2.0, with a “pirated library of Disney’s copyrighted characters.” Let’s take a look at all the details.

According to Axios, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance over the platform Seedance 2.0, treating Disney IP as if it were “free public domain clip art.” This came after Seedance 2.0 received backlash from the Motion Picture Association and the Human Artistry Campaign.

©Bytedance

The Human Artistry Campaign called Seedance 2.0, “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.” Seedance gained tons of attention and outrage after a series of “highly authentic-looking deepfakes” based on copyrighted Hollywood films and television IP went viral. It included a clip of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting, as well as an alternate scene from Titanic, Stranger Things, and much more.

Disney’s outside attorney, David Singer, wrote, “Over Disney’s well-publicized objections, ByteDance is hijacking Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters. ByteDance’s virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s IP is willful, pervasive, and totally unacceptable.”

©Deadline

The MPA called on ByteDance “to immediately cease its infringing activity.” The studio trade group exclaimed, “In a single day, the Chinese AI service 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.”

©Seedance2.0

A couple of months ago, back in December, Disney sent a similar cease and desist letter to Google. Deadline reported recently that its tools, including Gemini and Nano Banana, have “now started denying prompts that contain Disney-owned characters.” The world of AI is changing, and it’s crazy to see what it’s becoming. Recently, Disney signed a $1 billion deal with OpenAI to license characters to the generative video app Sora. Only time will tell how this will impact the company.

The Walt Disney Company headquarters in California

Whether you agree with AI or not, it’s here, and it’s growing. The fears of its impact on the entertainment industry and the creative industry are real. We’ll be sure to keep looking out for more Disney news related to this topic. Make sure to follow us at the Disney Food Blog so you don’t miss any of the latest Disney news and updates.

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