In February, Disney and other studios expressed concerns about Seedance’s AI tools potentially creating content with copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses without proper authorization. These concerns came to a head as people examined Seedance 2.0, unveiled by ByteDance, on various devices in Shanghai.

On August 17, 2026, ByteDance and the Motion Picture Association announced an agreement aimed at reinforcing copyright safeguards for the Chinese company’s AI video and image-generation models. This agreement followed challenges posed by the Hollywood trade group regarding ByteDance’s approach to intellectual property management.

The agreement includes ByteDance’s Seedance video and Seedream image-generation models, established after the Motion Picture Association sent a cease-and-desist letter in February regarding these tools. ByteDance responded by updating its models to incorporate stronger protections for intellectual property.

These models are integrated into services such as TikTok, CapCut, and Dreamina. The Motion Picture Association’s concerns stemmed from the possibility that Seedance could generate content featuring copyrighted film and television characters without authorization.

Both parties have committed to ongoing collaboration to develop safeguards for copyrighted content as AI technology continues to advance.