ByteDance scrambles to fix Seedance 2.0 after Hollywood erupts over copyright infringement
21 Sources
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ByteDance backpedals after Seedance 2.0 turned Hollywood icons into AI "clip art
ByteDance says that it's rushing to add safeguards to block Seedance 2.0 from generating iconic characters and deepfaking celebrities, after substantial Hollywood backlash after launching the latest version of its AI video tool. The changes come after Disney and Paramount Skydance sent
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ByteDance Promises Seedance 2.0 AI Limits After Hollywood Backlash
A new AI video generation tool from TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has Hollywood concerned. ByteDance has promised to improve safeguards around intellectual property rights to limit what its AI tool can make. A spokesperson for ByteDance told the BBC, "We are taking steps to strengthen
[3]
Hollywood groups condemn ByteDance's AI video generator, claiming copyright infringement
A new artificial intelligence video generator from Beijing-based ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is drawing the ire of Hollywood organizations that say Seedance 2.0 "blatantly" violates copyright and uses the likeness of actors and others without permission. Seedance 2.0, which is only available
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What is Seedance? The Chinese AI app sending Hollywood into a panic
A new artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by the Chinese company behind TikTok rocked Hollywood this week - not just because of what it can do, but what it could mean for creative industries. Created by tech giant ByteDance, Seedance 2.0 can generate cinema-quality video, complete with
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Why an A.I. Video of Tom Cruise Battling Brad Pitt Spooked Hollywood
It took only a 15-second clip of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt duking it out on a crumbling rooftop at twilight to draw swift outrage, and sizable fear, from Hollywood over the last few days. The widely circulated video was created by the Irish director Ruairi Robinson using Seedance 2.0, a powerful
[6]
ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 AI video generator sparks Hollywood outcry after viral clip
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. A hot potato: Many AI-generated videos can be hard to distinguish from the real thing, and it's about to become even more difficult. ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 model has already created a clip so
[7]
Seedance: Hollywood studios take aim at 'ultra-realistic' AI video tool
Whether it's Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt having a fist fight on a rooftop, Will Smith battling a red-eyed spaghetti monster, or Friends characters reimagined as otters, clips made using Seedance 2.0, a powerful new AI video tool, have been flooding social media. Seedance was launched by ByteDance,
[8]
China's AI rise rattles Hollywood
Why it matters: Technology good enough to scare even the most seasoned filmmakers is prompting a legal fight that's only the opening salvo in a broader war over intellectual property and market dominance. * Chinese AI models that undercut U.S. rivals on price, speed and market share pose an
[9]
The internet says Hollywood is cooked -- but I think Jia Zhangke's AI short says something far more interesting
AI spectacle gets the clicks, but thoughtful AI filmmaking gets the future Whenever an action-packed or unusual AI-generated short goes viral, the same cry rings out on social media: Hollywood is cooked! This week it's an AI-generated Brad Pitt fighting an AI-generated Tom Cruise (made all the
[10]
'It's over for us': release of new AI video generator Seedance 2.0 spooks Hollywood
An AI clip featuring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting has caused concern among industry figures A leading Hollywood figure has warned "it's likely over for us", after watching a widely disseminated AI-generated clip featuring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting. Rhett Reese, co-writer of Deadpool
[11]
Top Hollywood screenwriter warns TikTok's new tool is at the gates: 'I hate to say it. It's likely over for us' | Fortune
A new artificial intelligence video generator from Beijing-based ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is drawing the ire of Hollywood organizations that say Seedance 2.0 "blatantly" violates copyright and uses the likeness of actors and others without permission. Seedance 2.0, which is only available
[12]
New AI Video Generator Is So Impressive That It's Scaring Hollywood
Text-to-video generating tools have made tremendous leaps in a few short years. We went from a horrifying clip of actor Will Smith's contorted face temporarily merging with a bowl of spaghetti in 2023 to a far more realistic clip of him enjoying a plate of pasta -- including a soundtrack of
[13]
'This is unacceptable' -- SAG/AFTRA reacts to the viral Seedance 2.0 AI-generated Pitt-Cruise fight
Seedance 2.0, the latest generative AI video platform to make a splash, is now drawing all the wrong kinds of attention. The platform, which comes courtesy of TikTok's former parent, ByteDance, can, with limited prompts, create shockingly realistic audio and video, including a new clip that depicts
[14]
Hollywood groups condemn ByteDance's AI video generator, claiming copyright infringement
A new artificial intelligence video generator from Beijing-based ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is drawing the ire of Hollywood organizations that say Seedance 2.0 "blatantly" violates copyright and uses the likeness of actors and others without permission. Seedance 2.0, which is only available
[15]
Hollywood Groups Condemn ByteDance's AI Video Generator, Claiming Copyright Infringement
A new artificial intelligence video generator from Beijing-based ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is drawing the ire of Hollywood organizations that say Seedance 2.0 "blatantly" violates copyright and uses the likeness of actors and others without permission. Seedance 2.0, which is only available
[16]
After Tom Cruise's AI fight video goes viral, SAG-AFTRA condemns Seedance 2.0: "This is unacceptable and undercuts the ability of human talent"
SAG-AFTRA isn't happy with ByteDance following that viral AI video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise Looks like Marvel actor Simu Liu and Deadpool and Wolverine co-writer Rhett Reese aren't the only ones who have a problem with Seedance 2.0's now-viral AI video of Brad Pitt fighting Tom
[17]
Did Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt really fight on a rooftop? Here's the truth
A viral AI-generated clip featuring digital Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting has Hollywood on edge. Created with a simple two-line prompt on ByteDance's Seedance 2.0, the hyper-realistic video raises serious concerns about likeness rights, democratized filmmaking, and the future of creative
[18]
The Seedance 2.0 Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise AI Video Isn't Impressive, It's Terrifying And Hollywood Should be Scared
The implications of this video pose a major threat not only to Hollywood but also on a global scale. Unless you've been living under a rock, you would be aware of the latest update that has come forward with another advancement in artificial intelligence. Recently, an AI-generated video of Brad
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Deadpool and Wolverine writer thinks this Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise AI slop fight scene somehow means "it's over" for Hollywood
AI is all the rage. Wherever you look, big stars, iconic IP, and obscene scenarios are being contorted at the whims of a piece of software and a big-brain genius inputting a handful of prompts. The latest AI example doing the rounds comes from Seedance 2, which spat out a fight scene between Tom
[20]
AI Video of Tom Cruise Fighting Brad Pitt Has Top Writer Warning: "It's Likely Over for Us"
The 15-second video (watch it below) depicts the two A-listers trading blows on a rooftop. The video was posted two days ago by Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson, who was Oscar-nominated for a short film in 2002. When a fan snarked the video still "looks like shit," Reese replied, "In next to no
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Hollywood Studios Slam AI Tool That Created Video of Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt Fighting, and Prompted Deadpool's Writer to Declare 'It's Likely Over For Us' - IGN
Have you seen that AI-generated video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise beating the hell out of each other, which looks a tad too real? Well, major film studios in the United States have come out against the platform where those videos are made, Seedance 2.0, which is owned by TikTok's Chinese owner
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ByteDance is racing to implement safeguards for its AI video generator Seedance 2.0 after Disney and Paramount sent cease-and-desist letters over widespread copyright violations. The tool generated viral videos featuring Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and deepfakes of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, prompting Hollywood studios, SAG-AFTRA, and Japan's government to condemn the unauthorized use of intellectual property and celebrity likenesses.
ByteDance Faces Mounting Pressure Over Seedance 2.0 Copyright Infringement
ByteDance is rushing to add safeguards to its AI video generator Seedance 2.0 after facing intense Hollywood backlash over widespread copyright infringement and unauthorized use of celebrity likenesses. The Chinese tech giant, valued at $480 billion in private markets, released the tool last Thursday, only to face immediate condemnation from major studios and industry groups
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. Within a single day, users flooded social media with AI-generated videos featuring copyrighted characters like Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and SpongeBob SquarePants, prompting Disney and Paramount to send cease-and-desist letters demanding ByteDance immediately halt what they called "blatant infringement"2
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Source: BBC
Disney Accuses ByteDance of "Virtual Smash-and-Grab"
Disney's cease-and-desist letter pulled no punches, accusing ByteDance of treating its characters like "free public-domain clip art" and engaging in a "virtual smash-and-grab" of its intellectual property rights. The studio claimed ByteDance had supplied Seedance with a "pirated library" of Disney characters, with the infringement being "willful, pervasive, and totally unacceptable"
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. Paramount Skydance similarly defended franchises like Star Trek and The Godfather, noting that Seedance's outputs were "often indistinguishable, both visually and audibly" from original characters1
. Japan's AI minister Kimi Onoda launched an official probe into ByteDance to protect popular anime and manga characters, stating authorities "cannot overlook a situation in which content is being used without the copyright holder's permission"1
.Viral Deepfakes of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt Spark Industry Fear
A 15-second clip showing AI-generated versions of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a crumbling rooftop became the flashpoint for Hollywood's concerns. Irish director Ruairí Robinson created the video using just a two-line prompt, demonstrating Seedance 2.0's ability to generate cinema-quality content with sweeping camera angles, stunt choreography, and crisp sound effects
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. Deadpool screenwriter Rhett Reese reposted the video, saying "I hate to say it. It's likely over for us," and later described feeling a "cold shiver" up his spine3
. The video marked a stark departure from previous AI-generated content often dismissed as "AI slop," with industry experts noting this was the first time generative AI output looked like it came "straight out of a real production pipeline"4
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Source: TechSpot
SAG-AFTRA and Motion Picture Association Condemn Unauthorized Use
SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, issued a statement condemning the "blatant infringement" enabled by Seedance 2.0, emphasizing that the tool violated "law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent." The union's president, Sean Astin, was directly impacted when a since-removed video showed him as Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings delivering lines he never said
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. The Motion Picture Association, representing Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Disney, and Warner Bros., accused ByteDance of engaging in unauthorized use of copyrighted works on a "massive scale" within a single day3
. MPA chairman Charles Rivkin stated that ByteDance was "disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs"2
.ByteDance Promises Safeguards Amid Speculation of Intentional Strategy
Facing legal threats and Japan's investigation, ByteDance issued a statement Monday claiming it "respects intellectual property rights" and would take steps to "strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users"
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. However, some experts suggest the controversy may have been deliberate. Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China, told the South China Morning Post that "the controversy surrounding Seedance is likely part of ByteDance's initial distribution strategy to showcase its underlying technical capabilities"1
. University of Melbourne computing professor Shaanan Cohney noted there was "plenty of leeway to bend the rules strategically, to flout the rules for a while and get marketing clout"4
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Source: Seattle Times
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Implications for Human Creators and AI Development Ethics
The Human Artistry Campaign declared Seedance 2.0's launch "an attack on every creator around the world," arguing that "stealing human creators' work in an attempt to replace them with AI generated slop is destructive to our culture"
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. The incident highlights growing concerns about job displacement in creative industries, echoing the 2023 Writers Guild strike where union members demanded guardrails protecting them from having their work stolen by AI5
. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's national executive director, emphasized that contracts have specific rules about digital replication, and such material "could not be produced by any of the signatories to our contracts without the specific, informed consent of those individuals"5
. The contrast with Disney's $1 billion deal with OpenAI Sora, which allows licensed use of Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel characters, underscores the importance of proper licensing mechanisms4
.What This Means for the Future of AI Video Generation
Seedance 2.0 represents a significant leap in AI video generation technology, combining text prompts, visuals, and audio in a single system to produce professional-grade content
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. For small studios, particularly in Asia's booming micro-drama market where budgets run around $140,000 for 80 episodes, this technology could enable more ambitious genres like sci-fi and action4
. However, the incident signals that Chinese AI models are "at the very least matching at the frontier of what is available," raising questions about what other capabilities Chinese companies have in development4
. The industry now watches whether ByteDance's promised safeguards will adequately address concerns, or whether authorities will deploy legal tools to stop what studios call "wholesale theft" of intellectual property.References
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