ByteDance Delays Launch of AI Video Seedance 2.0 After Allegations of Stealing Hollywood Characters

Jakarta - Chinese technology giant ByteDance is reportedly delaying the global launch of its latest video-making artificial intelligence model, Seedance 2.0. This is done, after a copyright dispute with a number of major Hollywood film studios.

The report, first revealed by The Information, said the delay came after several film studios and streaming platforms in the United States questioned the use of copyrighted material in the development of the AI model.

Seedance 2.0 was officially introduced by ByteDance in February 2026. This AI model is designed to generate videos automatically from a combination of text, images, audio, and video clips. This aims to reduce the cost of content production for the film, advertising, and e-commerce industries.

But shortly after being introduced, the technology immediately sparked controversy. One company that voiced strong objections was Disney.

The entertainment giant even sent a legal warning letter or cease-and-desist to ByteDance last month. Disney accused the AI model of being trained using their characters without permission.

In the letter, Disney stated that Seedance 2.0 allegedly used the copyrighted character library from a number of popular franchises such as Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as if the characters were public images that could be used freely.

This controversy surfaced after a number of videos produced by Seedance went viral in China. One of the videos that caught the public's attention featured a fight scene between Hollywood actors Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a realistic cinematic format.

ByteDance previously stated that it would take steps to prevent the use of unauthorized intellectual property material in its AI system. However, increasing legal pressure has led the company to postpone its previously scheduled global launch plan in mid-March.

According to the report, ByteDance's legal team is currently reviewing potential legal issues that may arise from the technology. At the same time, the company's engineering team is also adding a safety system to prevent AI from producing copyrighted content.

Seedance 2.0 sempat menarik perhatian industri teknologi setelah kemampuannya dibandingkan dengan model AI generatif dari perusahaan seperti OpenAI dan Anthropic. Beberapa eksekutif teknologi bahkan memuji kemampuannya menghasilkan alur cerita sinematik hanya dari beberapa perintah teks.

One of the technology figures who also highlighted the model's capabilities was technology entrepreneur Elon Musk.

But this case again points to a major dilemma in the era of generative AI: machines are able to create content incredibly quickly, but the data sources used to train models are often in a legal gray area.

The entertainment industry is now one of the front lines of the conflict. On one hand, AI promises a revolution in the production of films and digital content. On the other hand, film studios are trying to protect characters, stories, and actors who have been worth billions of dollars for decades.