Motion Picture Association sends cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance over Seedance 2.0
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The Motion Picture Association on Friday sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging the Chinese tech giant has been involved in "pervasive and widespread infringement" of its members' intellectual property, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: It marks the first time the MPA, which represents all of the major Hollywood studios, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a major AI firm.
Catch up quick: ByteDance launched Seedance 2.0, its generative AI video tool, last week.
- In the subsequent days, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance, Netflix and Sony Pictures all sent cease-and-desist letters to the company, alleging copyright infringement.
- ByteDance has said in response to that legal pressure that it respects intellectual property and is adding safeguards to Seedance.
Yes, but: MPA says in its letter that it needs "far more than general statements" at this point.
- "Our ongoing investigation and review of social media platforms continues to reveal examples of Seedance producing material that clearly infringes on our members' rights," it reads.
Zoom in: MPA's letter, addressed to ByteDance global general counsel John Rogovin, accuses ByteDance of exploiting Member Studios' intellectual property by "producing content that closely replicates distinctive characters and other copyright-protected elements of MPA Member Studios' works."
- The letter includes examples of infringing materials created from intellectual property owned by its members companies.
- "In just a single week since ByteDance began rolling out Seedance, social media platforms are replete with videos publicly attributed to Seedance that include copies of characters from MPA Member Studios' works," the letter reads.
- "These outputs include some of the MPA Member Studios' most well-known and iconic works," it continues.
Zoom out: China's unrelenting efforts to catch the U.S. in AI are having a significant impact on Hollywood and the U.S. film business.
- Chinese AI models, which tend to be cheaper and faster, have less regard for copyrighted material and likeness rights of U.S. intellectual property holders.
What's next: MPA demands that ByteDance confirm in writing the specific steps it has taken to address its concerns by Feb. 27.
