The recent launch of Seedance 2.0 by ByteDance, a major Chinese technology firm, has created a stir in Hollywood by enabling the generation of high-quality videos featuring iconic film characters, complete with the voices of real actors. This innovation has drawn sharp criticism from performers and film studios alike. The actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, has expressed concern that the unauthorized replication of their images and voices threatens their livelihoods. Disney has taken a strong stance against ByteDance, labeling it as a creator of a "pirate library" where virtually any character, from Marvel heroes to Star Wars figures, can be summoned at will. Paramount has also joined the fray, highlighting the inclusion of its franchises such as South Park, Star Trek, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the platform. Both studios are calling for ByteDance to halt these alleged infringements on copyright. In response, ByteDance has asserted its commitment to respect intellectual property rights and has begun to implement measures to enhance protections, including disabling the feature that allows users to upload images of real individuals for video creation. In the United States, film studios have initiated formal legal actions against the company. Meanwhile, in Japan, authorities have already commenced an investigation into ByteDance concerning AI-generated videos that feature characters from popular anime series like Ultraman and Detective Conan. This situation raises a crucial question: who should AI companies compensate for the content they utilize—the actors, the studios, or do they owe nothing to anyone?
Informational material. 18+.
