Agreement covers ByteDance’s Seedance and Seedream models after Hollywood studios raised concerns over the generation of copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses.
BEIJING: ByteDance and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) on Monday signed an agreement aimed at strengthening copyright protections for the Chinese technology company’s artificial intelligence-powered video and image-generation models.
The agreement covers ByteDance’s Seedance video-generation and Seedream image-generation models and comes several months after the Hollywood trade group challenged the company’s handling of intellectual property.
The MPA had sent ByteDance a cease-and-desist letter in February over concerns related to the AI tools. Major studios, including Disney, had raised concerns that the models could generate content featuring copyrighted film and television characters as well as celebrity likenesses without proper authorisation.
Stronger safeguards for copyrighted content
ByteDance said newer versions of its AI models have incorporated stronger intellectual-property safeguards. The company and the MPA said they will continue working together to develop measures aimed at protecting copyrighted material as AI technology evolves.
The agreement is significant as generative AI companies face increasing scrutiny from entertainment companies over how copyrighted content is used to train and operate AI systems.
ByteDance’s AI models are available through several of its services, including TikTok, CapCut and Dreamina.
Hollywood’s growing concerns over AI
The MPA’s earlier challenge came amid broader concerns within Hollywood about generative AI tools being capable of producing content that resembles or directly incorporates protected characters, actors and other intellectual property.
The entertainment industry has been pushing technology companies to establish stronger controls to prevent unauthorised use of copyrighted works and celebrity identities.
The latest agreement between ByteDance and the MPA indicates that both sides are seeking a cooperative approach rather than relying solely on legal disputes.
As AI-generated video and images become increasingly sophisticated, copyright protection and the responsible use of intellectual property are expected to remain major issues for technology and entertainment companies worldwide.
