ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 accused of training on US copyrighted films without permission
The Motion Picture Association accused ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 video generation tool of being trained on and reproducing US-copyrighted films, TV shows and actors' likenesses without permission during initial testing. Disney, Paramount and Hollywood unions sent cease-and-desist letters alleging copyright infringement and unauthorised use of intellectual property and actors' voices.
What happened
The Motion Picture Association publicly accused ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 of 'unauthorised use of US copyrighted works on a massive scale.' During a single day of limited public testing, the service generated large volumes of video clips featuring Hollywood stars and franchise imagery from protected U.S. films without permission.
Disney and Paramount sent ByteDance cease-and-desist letters alleging Seedance 2.0 was trained on protected characters and calling the use of intellectual property 'blatant infringement.' Hollywood unions also condemned the tool for unauthorised use of actors' likenesses and voices.
Reported impact
The MPA stated the service potentially harms rights-holders' ability to control and monetize their work, and could put them out of business. Deadpool writer Rhett Reese warned 'It's likely over for us,' expressing terror at the tool's creative capabilities.
Index analysis
Seedance 2.0 is designed to generate polished, story-driven video from short text prompts, which typically requires training on vast amounts of existing video content including popular films and TV shows. The MPA argues ByteDance launched the system without 'adequate protections against infringement,' allowing users to easily prompt it to mimic specific copyrighted works or stars with no effective safeguards or licensing in place.
Governance controls
According to ByteDance, the product has suspended the ability for people to upload images of real people and stated it respects intellectual property rights and copyright protections. ByteDance said the content referenced was created during limited pre-launch testing and that steps are being taken to further address risks by implementing robust policies, monitoring mechanisms and processes to ensure compliance with local regulations.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.