Last week ByteDance released the latest version of its AI video generator, Seedance 2.0. Within a short time, sample videos were shared online which appeared to include copyrighted characters for which permission may not have been given. Now ByteDance has been threatened with legal action by Disney for using its intellectual property.
Seedance 2.0
Seedance 2.0 can generate video with audio content from text, image, audio, and video prompts. It adopts a unified multimodal audio-video joint generation architecture. This means that the AI model is designed to learn how images and audio work together in the real world. As a result, Seedance 2.0 should create videos which more realistically represent real-world physics. ByteDance also claims that Seedance 2.0 features “exceptional motion stability” and delivers “an ultra-realistic immersive experience”.
The sample videos on the Seedance 2.0 website are very impressive, with realistic motion and cinematic camera moves. However, soon after the AI tool was made available, users began to share videos using trademarked and copyrighted characters without permission. As a result, Disney has now sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance. In the letter, the studio accused ByteDance of supplying Seedance 2.0 with a “pirated library” of Disney’s intellectual property.
Marvel and Star Wars
Disney also claimed that ByteDance had committed a “virtual smash-and-grab” of its copyrighted characters. The letter alleges that characters from the Marvel universe and Star Wars have been used without permission. Disney also claims that cartoon characters have been used in breach of the company’s intellectual property rights. In the UK, the BBC News website reported that it found videos generated by Seedance which featured Spider-Man and Captain America, as well as Anakin Skywalker and Rey from Star Wars.
What has ByteDance said?
ByteDance has responded to Disney with a pledge to stop Seedance using copyrighted or trademarked content without permission. The company said that it “respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0”. It went on to state: “We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users”. However, ByteDance hasn’t explained what those steps will entail. In addition, ByteDance had previously said it stopped users uploading images of real people.
What we think
One of the most controversial aspects of generative AI has been the nature of the material used to train the technology. Adobe has stated that it is paying creators for any content used in the development of its Firefly generative AI. Additionally, last year Disney signed a deal with OpenAI to license its characters for use by the latter’s Sora generative AI. That deal was said to be worth around $1 billion. However, many other companies have been less forthcoming when explaining what was used to train their AI models. Disney’s threat of legal action is the latest round in an ongoing battle between rights holders and AI companies that is set to continue for some time.
