Disney has filed a cease-and-desist notice against ByteDance, alleging that its recently launched Seedance 2.0 uses copyrighted material without authorization. The Walt Disney Company claims that the generative AI tool incorporates a "pirated library" of characters from popular franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel.
The cease-and-desist letter, reported by Axios, cites specific examples of Seedance videos that feature characters like Spider-Man and Darth Vader. The tool, released just days ago, has received both acclaim for its AI capabilities and backlash from Hollywood studios concerned about copyright infringement.
This legal action marks another instance of Disney confronting AI companies over similar issues, following a September warning to Character.AI. Additionally, Disney previously accused Google of copyright violations related to its AI model training. Meanwhile, the company has also entered into a licensing agreement with OpenAI to utilize its intellectual property for generating content.