BBS: TELESC.NET.BR
Assunto: Studios threaten ByteDance with legal action
De: Mike Powell
Data: Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:48:29 -0500
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'We will not stand by and watch': Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. threaten
legal action over Seedance 2.0 videos starring Marvel, DC, and Stranger Things
characters
By Tom Power published 4 hours ago
Studios have hit out at ByteDance for 'blatant infringement' of their
copyrighted works
Netflix has condemed the use of its IP in Seedance 2.0
Characters from numerous Netflix-owned properties have recently appeared in
AI-generated videos
Disney, Warner Bros, and Paramount have also hit out at ByteDance over
similar incidents
Netflix has joined the chorus of dissenting voices over the use of its
intellectual property (IP) in videos created by Seedance 2.0.
Yesterday (February 17), Netflix sent a cease and desist letter to ByteDance,
which owns the artificial intelligence (AI) video generator, and threatened to
take legal action if ByteDance didn't stop treating "our valued IP as free,
public domain clip art."
Netflix's warning comes amid the use of characters from some of its most
popular franchises in recent videos created by Seedance 2.0, including
characters from Stranger Things, Kpop Demon Hunters, and Bridgerton.
The recreation of the life-threatening games seen in Squid Game - one video
sees controversial Tesla founder Elon Musk inserted into one of the games'
deadly challenges (per Deadline) - was also mentioned in Netflix's two-page
correspondence.
For the uninitiated: Seedance is a generative-AI video maker that allows users
to create near-realistic footage from just a few short text prompts.
It wasn't until ByteDance, which also owns the hugely popular shortform video
app TikTok, launched version 2.0 of its generative AI tool on February 12,
though, that it became a hot topic of discussion. Indeed, the emergence of a
video made with Seedance 2.0, which shows Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Tom
Cruise fighting on a bridge, went viral 24 hours before the program's latest
update went live.
Unsurprisingly, the footage immediately caused concern among many, not least
Hollywood studios. In the days since the aforementioned video circulated
online, others have similarly gained traction, with users populating AI-created
videos with characters from Marvel and Star Wars (both of which are owned by
Disney), DC Comics superheroes including Superman and Batman (Warner Bros.),
and characters from various Paramount properties.
Furious Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount executives have already condemned
ByteDance for "blatant infringement" of copyright and conducting a "virtual
smash-and-grab" of their IPs in their own fiery cease and desist letters.
Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) has also called the
use of Cruise and Pitt's likeness in the aforementioned Seedance video as
"unacceptable".
However, with Netflix now entering the fray - one of the world's best
streaming services says it "won't stand by and watch" Seedance use its
copyrighted materials - the pressure on ByteDance has only grown in stature.
Will the likes of Amazon, Apple, and NBCUniversal eventually join their fellow
entertainment giants? If any of their IPs are used in a similar fashion,
absolutely.
For what it's worth, the Chinese company has said it'll take steps to protect
US studios' biggest franchises. In a statement shared with Deadline on February
16, a spokesperson said: "[ByteDance] respects intellectual property rights and
we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0. We are taking steps to
strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of
intellectual property and likeness by users."
The furore over Seedance 2.0 comes amid the ongoing, largely unregulated use of
generative-AI models to make, well, whatever a user wants. Hollywood firms have
hit out at other similarly marketed programs, including OpenAI's Sora 2, while
governments worldwide have been left scrambling over how to deal with such AI
tools and, where possible, fast-track new laws to limit how they can be used.
However, with studios like Disney actually agreeing three-year licensing deals
with tools like Sora 2, which will allow fans to create shortform videos
featuring their favorite Disney-owned characters, the use of AI tools like
Seedance 2.0 will continue to operate in a gray area. That is, until
governments, companies, and everyday users work out how best to utilize them
- and how to respond when they're used in the wrong way.
https://www.techradar.com/streaming/we-will-not-stand-by-and-watch-netflix-disn
ey-and-warner-bros-threaten-legal-action-over-seedance-2-0-videos-starring-marv
el-dc-and-stranger-things-characters
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