LOS ANGELES: ByteDance will take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property on its artificial intelligence (AI) video generator Seedance 2.0, the Chinese technology firm says, following threats of legal action from US studios, including Disney.
Videos generated by Seedance 2.0, which was released last week, have gone viral in China including one of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a fight.
The AI model has been compared to DeepSeek and has been praised for its ability to produce cinematic storylines with just a few prompts.
Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance accusing the Chinese firm of using Disney characters to train and power Seedance 2.0 without permission, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters late on Sunday.
Disney said ByteDance had pre-packaged Seedance with a pirated library of copyrighted characters from franchises including Star Wars and Marvel, portraying them as if they were public-domain clip art, the source said.
The letter alleged Seedance was reproducing, distributing and creating derivative works featuring Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and other characters. — Reuters
