Seedance: ByteDance to curb AI app after Disney legal threat
ByteDance is curbing its AI video app, Seedance, following legal threats from Disney over copyright infringement of its characters.Summary
Chinese technology giant ByteDance has committed to strengthening safeguards for its controversial AI video-making tool, Seedance, after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Disney. Disney accused ByteDance of supplying the app with a "pirated library" of copyrighted characters from Marvel and Star Wars, calling it a "virtual smash-and-grab" of intellectual property. Videos generated by Seedance 2.0, which launched on February 12, have proliferated online, showing realistic depictions of characters like Spider-Man and Star Wars figures. ByteDance stated it respects intellectual property rights and is taking steps to prevent unauthorized use of IP and likenesses, though it did not detail the new safeguards. The legal pressure extends beyond Disney, with Paramount Skydance reportedly sending a similar letter, and the Motion Picture Association demanding the tool cease infringing activity. Furthermore, the Japanese government has launched an investigation into ByteDance over AI-generated videos of Japanese anime characters.
(Source：BBC News)