Warner Bros. Discovery Issues Cease & Desist to ByteDance Over AI Video Generator
Warner Bros. Discovery has followed in the footsteps of Disney and Paramount, issuing a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance. The parent company of TikTok is accused of “blatant infringement” through its AI video generator, Seedance 2.0. This tool has been utilized to create unauthorized videos featuring iconic DC superheroes like Superman and Batman, as well as characters from the popular series “Game of Thrones”.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, Warner Bros. legal chief, Wayne M. Smith, directly addressed ByteDance’s general counsel, John Rogovin. Rogovin, a former Warner Bros. employee, was told: “ByteDance is now engaged in blatant infringement of the very same properties you spent many years protecting.”
The letter further argues that the users of Seedance 2.0 aren’t at fault for the copyright violations. The tool comes pre-loaded with Warner Bros. Discovery’s copyrighted characters. “They are merely building on the foundation of infringement already laid by ByteDance“, Smith wrote. Despite ByteDance’s pledge to strengthen safeguards on the platform, Warner Bros. questioned why these protections weren’t implemented prior to the tool’s public release. Both the Motion Picture Association and SAG-AFTRA have also condemned the unauthorized use of intellectual property.
Source: Hollywood Reporter