The Walt Disney Company has issued a cease-and-desist notice to ByteDance, raising serious copyright concerns over the company’s newly launched AI video-generation model, Seedance 2.0. According to Disney, the platform appears to have been developed using copyrighted material from its iconic franchises without authorization or licensing.

In its notice, Disney cited multiple instances where Seedance 2.0 allegedly generated videos featuring protected characters such as Spider-Man and Darth Vader. The company argued that the service launched with what it described as an “embedded library” of copyrighted characters, presented in a way that implied they were freely available for public use. Disney further alleged that its intellectual property was used to support a commercial offering, escalating the severity of the claimed infringement.

The dispute has surfaced amid growing backlash from Hollywood’s creative community against unlicensed AI training practices. The Motion Picture Association, led by Charles Rivkin, urged ByteDance to halt what it termed infringing activity. Industry bodies including SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America-both members of the Human Artistry Campaign-have also called for regulatory intervention.

Disney has recently adopted a more assertive stance on AI-related copyright enforcement. It has previously issued notices to platforms such as Character.AI and Google, leading to removals and product changes. The studio is also pursuing legal action against Midjourney and has joined NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery in a lawsuit against MiniMax over alleged large-scale piracy.

Despite its firm approach, Disney has signalled openness to collaborating with AI developers through structured licensing agreements. Notably, the company has entered into a major partnership with OpenAI, positioning itself as both a content licensing partner and strategic investor-highlighting its preference for authorized innovation over unlicensed use.