'We will not stand by and watch': Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. threaten legal action over Seedance 2.0 videos starring Marvel, DC, and Stranger Things characters

• Netflix has condemed 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 have also hit out at ByteDance over 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, which owns the artificial intelligence (AI) video generator, and threatened to take legal action if ByteDance didn't stop treating "our valued IP as free, public domain clip art."

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 Hunters, and Bridgerton.

The recreation of the life-threatening games seen in Squid Game — one video sees controversial Tesla founder Elon Musk inserted into one of the games' deadly challenges (per 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 footage from just a few short text prompts.

It wasn't until ByteDance, which also owns the hugely popular shortform video app TikTok, launched version 2.0 of its generative AI tool on February 12, though, that it became a hot topic of discussion. Indeed, the emergence of a video made with Seedance 2.0, which shows Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting on a bridge, went viral 24 hours before the program's latest update went live.

Unsurprisingly, the footage immediately caused concern among many, not least Hollywood studios. In the days since the aforementioned video circulated online, others have similarly gained traction, with users populating AI-created videos with characters from Marvel and Star Wars (both of which are owned by Disney), DC Comics superheroes including Superman and Batman (Warner Bros.), and characters from various Paramount properties.

Furious Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount executives have already condemned ByteDance for "blatant infringement" of copyright and conducting a "virtual smash-and-grab" of their IPs in their own fiery cease and desist letters. Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) has also called the use of Cruise and Pitt's likeness in the aforementioned Seedance video as "unacceptable".

However, with Netflix now entering the fray — one of the world's best streaming services says it "won't stand by and watch" Seedance use its copyrighted materials — the pressure on ByteDance has only grown in stature. Will the likes of Amazon, Apple, and NBCUniversal eventually join their fellow entertainment giants? If any of their IPs are used in a similar fashion, absolutely.

For what it's worth, the Chinese company has said it'll take steps to protect US studios' biggest franchises. In a statement shared with Deadline on February 16, a spokesperson said: "[ByteDance] respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0. We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users."

The furore over Seedance 2.0 comes amid the ongoing, largely unregulated use of generative-AI models to make, well, whatever a user wants. Hollywood firms have hit out at other similarly marketed programs, including OpenAI's Sora 2, while governments worldwide have been left scrambling over how to deal with such AI tools and, where possible, fast-track new laws to limit how they can be used.

However, with studios like Disney actually agreeing three-year licensing deals with tools like Sora 2, which will allow fans to create shortform videos featuring their favorite Disney-owned characters, the use of AI tools like Seedance 2.0 will continue to operate in a gray area. That is, until governments, companies, and everyday users work out how best to utilize them — and how to respond when they're used in the wrong way.

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