Read Netflix's legal letter to ByteDance over a viral AI video tool it calls a 'high-speed piracy engine'

• Netflix just sent a cease-and-desist letter to TikTok parent ByteDance about AI video tool Seedance.
• Disney and Netflix have urged ByteDance to keep their IP out of Seedance's videos and training data.
• Hollywood is staring down the threat of rapidly evolving AI tools.

Netflix isn't amused by ByteDance's new AI video tool.

The streaming giant sent a cease-and-desist letter to the China-based TikTok parent on Tuesday night, calling its new generative AI model Seedance 2.0 "a high-speed piracy engine."

Seedance turned heads last week after a user created a viral video of people resembling Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a rooftop about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

While some were impressed, others panicked, with Deadpool cowriter Rhett Reese writing: "I hate to say it. It's likely over for us."

Netflix said in its letter to ByteDance that the company's AI video tool had also made videos mimicking characters from mega-hit Netflix shows like "Stranger Things," "Bridgerton," and "Squid Game" as well as the uber-popular movie "KPop Demon Hunters."

"The use of copyrighted works to create a competing commercial product, especially one that regurgitates the original, is not protected by fair use," Netflix's litigation director wrote.

Netflix urged ByteDance to stop generating AI videos that resemble its IP, and to identify and remove all such videos that have already been created. It also insisted that its IP be taken out of Seedance's training datasets.

A ByteDance spokesperson said the company "respects intellectual property rights" and has "heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0."

"We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users," the ByteDance spokesperson said.

Disney sent ByteDance a message similar to Netflix's last week. That's notable because Disney reached a deal in December to license iconic characters to OpenAI for its video-generating app Sora.

Seedance is using "a pirated library of Disney's copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney's coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art," Disney said in its cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance.

Netflix echoed that sentiment, saying it would "not stand by and watch ByteDance treat our valued IP as free, public domain clip art."

Paramount Skydance also sent a cease-and-desist letter last week to ByteDance expressing similar concerns, Variety reported.

Read Netflix's letter to ByteDance below:

Re: CEASE AND DESIST — Willful Infringement of Netflix's Intellectual Property by Seedance 2.0

Dear Mr. Rogovin,

I am in-house counsel for Netflix, a global entertainment service that owns and distributes much-loved movies and TV series. We have learned that ByteDance's recently launched audio-video generative AI model, Seedance 2.0 ("Seedance"), is engaging in the pervasive and willful unauthorized reproduction of Netflix's valuable intellectual property.

The Infringement: Evidence of High-Fidelity Regurgitation

Seedance acts as a high-speed piracy engine, generating mass quantities of unauthorized derivative works utilizing Netflix's iconic characters, worlds, and scripted narratives.

Current forensic evidence indicates that Seedance is being used to generate unauthorized derivative works including, but not limited to:

● Bridgerton: Unauthorized depictions of Season 4 content, specifically featuring characters in a masquerade ball setting. These outputs mirror specific, narratively important costumes like Sophie Baek's "Lady in Silver" gown. ByteDance has even promoted this content using #Bridgerton tags via its own official social media channels, such as @BytePlusGlobal.

● Stranger Things: High-fidelity reboots of the series finale, which feature detailed reproductions of the iconic cast as well as the monsters from the series, including Demogorgons and the Mindflayer.

● Squid Game: Seedance has generated recreations of the "Red Light, Green Light" sets and the iconic Young-hee doll. These include unauthorized crossovers, such as inserting real-world figures like Elon Musk into the Squid Game environment.

● KPop Demon Hunters: Seedance has reproduced the specific visual style and character designs from our animated musical feature, including the lead character Rumi.

Netflix has never authorized ByteDance to use our content to generate these images or videos. ByteDance's activities are willful, and constitute direct and secondary copyright infringement. The use of copyrighted works to create a competing commercial product, especially one that regurgitates the original, is not protected by fair use.

Immediate Demands

To avoid immediate litigation, Netflix demands that ByteDance:

1. Cease Generative Output: Immediately implement technological guardrails to prevent Seedance from generating any content that resembles Netflix's protected characters, titles, or settings.

2. Remove Infringing Content: Remove all unlawfully obtained Netflix-owned content from training datasets, and also scrub all existing Seedance-generated videos featuring Netflix IP from all ByteDance-controlled platforms.

3. Identify All Infringements: Provide an accounting of all instances where Seedance has generated content based on prompts related to Netflix's IP.

4. Revoke Third-Party Access: Revoke access for any commercial partners or API users currently utilizing Seedance to generate unauthorized Netflix derivative works.

Netflix will not stand by and watch ByteDance treat our valued IP as free, public domain clip art.

We await your response within three (3) business days. All rights and remedies are reserved.

Regards,

Mindy LeMoine

Director, Litigation