TikTok’s parent company, China’s ByteDance, has put the global launch of its latest video production model, Seedance 2.0, on hold after a series of copyright disputes with major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, The Information reported on Saturday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the situation.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ByteDance said last month it would take steps to prevent unauthorized use of intellectual property in its AI video generator, Seedance 2.0, following threats of legal action from US studios including Disney.
The “battle” with Disney
Disney sued the Chinese company last month, accusing it of using Disney characters to train and power Seedance 2.0 without permission, after videos produced by the model went viral in China, including one showing Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a fight.
Disney said ByteDance had “packaged” Seedance with a pirated library of copyrighted characters from franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel, presenting them as public domain clip art.
ByteDance, which officially unveiled the model in February, has said the system is aimed at professional use in cinema, e-commerce and advertising, highlighting its ability to process text, images, audio and video simultaneously to reduce content production costs.
Seedance 2.0 drew attention after comparisons to DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that has built models that rival those of Anthropic and OpenAI. Tech executives, including Elon Musk, have praised its ability to create cinematic stories from just a few commands.
ByteDance had aimed to make the new video model available to customers worldwide in mid-March, but the company has since suspended those plans, The Information reports.
ByteDance’s legal team is working to identify and resolve potential legal issues, and engineers are adding safeguards to prevent the model from producing content that could lead to further copyright violations, the report added.
