- Netflix has condemned the use of its IP in Seedance 2.0
- Characters from numerous Netflix-owned properties have recently appeared in AI-generated videos.
- Disney, Warner Bros and Paramount also attacked ByteDance for similar incidents
Netflix has joined the chorus of dissenting voices over the use of its intellectual property (IP) in videos created by Seedance 2.0.
Yesterday (February 17), Netflix sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, owner of the artificial intelligence (AI) video generator, threatening legal action if ByteDance did not stop treating “our valuable intellectual property as free clipart in the public domain.”
Netflix’s warning comes amid the use of characters from some of its most popular franchises in recent videos created by Seedance 2.0, including characters from stranger things, Kpop Demon Huntersand Bridgerton.
The recreation of the potentially deadly games seen in Squid Game – a video shows controversial Tesla founder Elon Musk inserted into one of the games’ deadly challenges (according to Deadline) – was also mentioned in Netflix’s two-page correspondence.
For the uninitiated: Seedance is a generative AI video maker that allows users to create near-realistic images from a few short text prompts.
An AI generated video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting on a rooftop is going viral and people are saying the AI is getting too realistic pic.twitter.com/SHK4u0iLVaFebruary 11, 2026
However, it wasn’t until ByteDance, which also owns the popular short video app TikTok, released version 2.0 of its generative AI tool on February 12, that it became a hot topic of discussion. In fact, the appearance of a video made with Seedance 2.0, showing Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting on a bridge, went viral 24 hours before the last update of the program was published.
Unsurprisingly, the images immediately caused concern among many, including Hollywood studios. In the days since the aforementioned video circulated online, others have similarly gained traction, with users filling AI-created videos with characters from Marvel and Star Wars (both owned by Disney), DC Comics superheroes including Superman and Batman (Warner Bros.), and characters from various Paramount properties.
Wolverine vs Superman fight sequence 🚨Where the Marvel universe collided with the DC universe 🥶😳💥Seedance 2.0 was crazy 📈#SpiderManBrandNewDay #AvengersDoomsday pic.twitter.com/YmI8WrGmkhFebruary 15, 2026
Furious executives at Disney, Warner Bros., and Paramount have already condemned ByteDance for “blatant infringement” of copyrights and for conducting a “virtual explosion” of their IPs in their own fiery cease-and-desist letters. Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) also called the use of Cruise and Pitt’s likeness in the aforementioned Seedance video “unacceptable.”
However, now that Netflix is entering the picture (one of the world’s top streaming services says it “won’t stand by and watch” Seedance use its copyrighted materials), the pressure on ByteDance has only increased in stature. Will companies like Amazon, Apple and NBCUniversal eventually join their fellow entertainment giants? If any of your IPs are used in a similar way, absolutely.
For what it’s worth, the Chinese company has said it will take steps to protect American studios’ biggest franchises. In a statement shared with Deadline on February 16, a spokesperson said: “[ByteDance] respects intellectual property rights and we have heard concerns about Seedance 2.0. “We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent unauthorized use of intellectual property and image by users.”
The furor over Seedance 2.0 comes amid the continued, largely unregulated use of generative AI models to do, well, whatever a user wants. Hollywood companies have attacked other similarly marketed programs, including OpenAI’s Sora 2, while governments around the world have been left debating how to deal with such AI tools and, where possible, fast-track new laws to limit their use.
However, with studios like Disney agreeing to three-year licensing deals with tools like Sora 2, which will allow fans to create short videos featuring their favorite Disney characters, the use of AI tools like Seedance 2.0 will continue to operate in a gray area. That is, until governments, businesses, and everyday users figure out how best to use them and how to respond when they are used incorrectly.
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