Key facts
- ByteDance and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) have reached an agreement on restricting the use of studio intellectual property in AI-generated video and images.
- The deal addresses concerns raised by studios like Disney in February that ByteDance's AI tools could create content featuring copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses without authorization.
- The agreement specifically covers ByteDance's Seedance video and Seedream image-generation models, which are accessible through platforms such as TikTok, CapCut, and Dreamina.
- ByteDance stated that newer versions of its models incorporate enhanced intellectual property protections.
- Both ByteDance and the MPA have committed to ongoing collaboration on safeguarding copyrighted content amidst evolving AI technology.
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, has entered into an agreement with the Motion Picture Association (MPA) to enhance copyright protections for its artificial intelligence-powered video and image generation models. This pact follows a February cease-and-desist letter from the MPA, which, along with major Hollywood studios like Disney, had expressed concerns that ByteDance's AI tools could generate content featuring copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses without proper authorization.
The agreement specifically targets ByteDance's Seedance video and Seedream image-generation models, which are accessible through platforms including TikTok, CapCut, and Dreamina. The MPA noted that recent iterations of these models, such as Seedream 5.0 Pro and Seedance 2.5, demonstrate ByteDance's progress in implementing intellectual property safeguards.
MPA Chairman Charles Rivkin described the engagement with ByteDance as constructive, leading to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that reflects a shared commitment to fortifying guardrails. John Rogovin, ByteDance's general counsel, stated that the MOU establishes a crucial framework for ongoing collaboration across various products and platforms as the technology evolves.
The MPA views this agreement as a significant step in protecting intellectual property within the generative AI space. However, the broader industry context includes ongoing litigation, such as lawsuits filed by Warner Bros., NBCUniversal, and The Walt Disney Co. against AI model developer Midjourney, which also address the use of copyrighted material in training AI models and the generation of infringing outputs.