– Paramount Skydance has escalated the legal battle against ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, with a cease-and-desist notice alleging widespread intellectual property infringement stemming from the company’s artificial intelligence platforms, Seedance and Seedream. The move follows a similar action taken by Walt Disney last week, signaling a growing wave of concern within Hollywood regarding the potential for AI-driven copyright violations.
The legal notice, delivered to ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo, asserts that the Seed platforms are generating images and videos that contain depictions of Paramount’s copyrighted characters and franchises, including “South Park,” “Star Trek,” “The Godfather,” “Dora the Explorer,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Paramount Skydance contends that these depictions are not merely similar but are often visually and aurally indistinguishable from the original content.
According to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Variety, Paramount Skydance’s head of intellectual property, Gabriel Miller, stated that the unauthorized use of its intellectual property extends to the training of the AI models themselves. The company alleges that ByteDance utilized Paramount’s content to train Seedance and Seedream without obtaining the necessary permissions, a practice it deems a violation of the law.
The core of the dispute centers on ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0, a recently launched video creation model that allows users to generate content from text, images, audio, and video prompts. While ByteDance touts the platform’s capabilities, Paramount Skydance argues that it facilitates the creation and dissemination of infringing material. The company is demanding that ByteDance immediately take steps to prevent further violations of its intellectual property rights, remove all infringing content from its platforms, and ensure that its content is not used or created by ByteDance or the Seed platforms in the future.
Disney initiated the legal challenge last week, accusing ByteDance of making available a “pirated library” of its copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other franchises through the Seed platforms. Disney’s complaint mirrors Paramount Skydance’s concerns about the unauthorized use of its intellectual property for AI model training and content generation.
ByteDance, however, has responded to the growing criticism, asserting that it is actively working to address the issue of copyright infringement. Liang, a vice president at Douyin Group (ByteDance), stated on a social media platform that the company is focused on strengthening its anti-infringement strategies. He also noted that the platform currently does not support the generation of images or videos based on real-person faces or specific intellectual property, including Disney and Xiong Chumo (Bear Outing) characters. He emphasized the need for real-name authentication for digital avatars.
The legal actions by Paramount Skydance and Disney highlight the complex challenges posed by generative AI technologies to established copyright laws. The ability of AI models to create new content based on existing works raises fundamental questions about ownership, authorship, and fair use. The entertainment industry, heavily reliant on intellectual property protection, is particularly sensitive to these concerns.
The financial implications of this dispute are potentially significant. Paramount Skydance, a joint venture between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, relies heavily on the revenue generated from its established franchises. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution of this content could erode licensing fees, merchandise sales, and viewership numbers. Disney, similarly, derives substantial revenue from its intellectual property portfolio. The scale of potential damages will likely be a key factor in the ongoing legal proceedings.
This situation is not unique to Paramount Skydance and Disney. Other major media companies are likely monitoring the situation closely and may consider similar legal action if they believe their intellectual property is being infringed upon by AI-driven platforms. The outcome of these cases could set a precedent for how copyright law is applied to generative AI, shaping the future of content creation and distribution.
The dispute also raises broader questions about the responsibility of AI developers to ensure that their technologies are not used for illegal or infringing purposes. While ByteDance maintains that it is taking steps to address the issue, the effectiveness of these measures remains to be seen. The company faces a delicate balancing act between fostering innovation and protecting the intellectual property rights of others.
The legal battle between ByteDance and Hollywood studios is expected to be protracted and complex. It will likely involve detailed technical analysis of the AI models, assessments of the extent of the alleged infringement, and legal arguments over the interpretation of copyright law in the context of generative AI. The outcome will have far-reaching implications for the entertainment industry and the broader technology landscape.
