ByteDance postpones global Seedance 2.0 to add IP safeguards

ByteDance has delayed the global rollout of Seedance 2.0, its AI video model, after receiving cease-and-desist letters from Hollywood studios over intellectual property. The mid-March launch window is on hold while internal teams add protections against the use of copyrighted characters, brands and celebrity likenesses.

Seedance 2.0 launched in China in February and quickly drew attention when user-made clips spread online, including a short video showing Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt. A screenwriter called the footage, “It’s likely over for us.” Disney’s legal team described the activity as a “virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s IP.”

The company plans to add stronger intellectual property safeguards to the product. Legal and engineering groups are working to prevent the generation and distribution of content that could infringe rights held by studios and talent.

Seedance 2.0 generates brief, stylized videos from text prompts. It gained wide use in China, and the company had planned to extend access to users outside the country in mid-March before pausing the rollout to reassess guardrails.

ByteDance is the parent of TikTok and holds a minority stake in TikTok’s U.S. spinoff. The company has not announced when global access to Seedance 2.0 will begin.