Major US film studios have demanded that a powerful new AI video tool launched by TikTok owner ByteDance must “immediately cease” what they say is widespread copyright infringement using clips based on existing films and TV shows.
Many of the clips feature recognisable actors, television programmes and movies. The Motion Picture Association told the BBC: “In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorised use of US copyrighted works on a massive scale.”
The MPA represents major studios including Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros Discovery.
ByteDance said the tool has already suspended the ability for users to upload images of real people. The company added that it respects intellectual property and copyright protections, takes potential infringement seriously, and said the content in question was created during a limited pre-launch testing phase.
Seedance 2.0 can generate highly realistic video clips from short text prompts. Viral examples include a fight scene between Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, Will Smith battling a red-eyed spaghetti monster, and characters from Friends reimagined as otters.
The MPA’s chairman and CEO, Charles Rivkin, said: “By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs. ByteDance should immediately cease its infringing activity.”
ByteDance said it is taking further steps to address risks and will introduce stronger policies, monitoring systems and compliance processes aligned with local regulations.
Clips generated by the tool have flooded social media, with users recreating scenes inspired by franchises such as The Lord of the Rings, Seinfeld, Avengers and Breaking Bad. ByteDance has promoted the tool as offering “an ultra-realistic immersive experience”.
The launch has triggered alarm across Hollywood. Deadpool writer Rhett Reese warned: “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”
A review by Forbes said Seedance 2.0 “offers a level of creative control that mimics a human director” and allows users to produce high-end results without complex production tools.
While many users are excited by its capabilities, Reese said he was deeply unsettled by what it could mean for the industry. “So many people I love are facing the loss of careers they love. I myself am at risk,” he wrote.
“When I said ‘It’s over,’ I wasn’t being flippant. I was blown away by the Pitt v Cruise video because it is so professional. That’s exactly why I’m scared. My glass-half-empty view is that Hollywood is about to be revolutionised or decimated.”
Heather Anne Campbell, a writer who has worked on Saturday Night Live and Rick & Morty, compared the output to fan fiction, arguing that originality remains the biggest challenge.
“People now have access to these powerful AI visualisation tools and total creative control — and they’re still producing fan fiction,” she wrote. “‘Breaking Bad new scene’ or ‘Goku in live action’. It’s almost like original ideas are the hardest part, even when you have an infinite budget.”
