MPA Sends First-Ever Cease-and-Desist to ByteDance Over AI Video Generator's Alleged Mass Copyright Infringement
Summary
The Motion Picture Association fires its first-ever cease-and-desist at ByteDance, accusing the TikTok parent of deliberately training its AI video generator Seedance 2.0 on copyrighted films and shows without permission, with Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Paramount, and Sony all joining the legal assault as ByteDance insists it respects intellectual property rights.
Key Points
- The Motion Picture Association sends its first-ever cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, escalating the entertainment industry's legal battle over its AI video generator Seedance 2.0 and its alleged mass copyright infringement.
- Major studios including Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Paramount, and Sony Pictures are all issuing their own legal threats, arguing ByteDance deliberately trained Seedance 2.0 on copyrighted material without permission, calling the infringement a core 'feature' of the platform.
- ByteDance claims it 'respects intellectual property rights' and is strengthening safeguards, but the MPA rejects this, stating ByteDance itself trained its model on copyrighted works without consent and released the service without proper guardrails.