How Disney picks its AI copyright battles depends on who's ripping it off

"No, Disney did not release footage of a never-before-seen fight sequence between Marvel's Wolverine and Thanos (spoiler: Thanos won). That clip, which amassed over 142,000 views on X over 48 hours, was created using Seedance 2.0, an AI video generation model that ByteDance debuted last week. The tool created a buzz on social media, where one user made a hyperrealistic AI video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting over Jeffrey Epstein."

"ByteDance's decision to let users create content based on Disney's IP without permission isn't all that surprising given the AI industry's well-established strategy to "ask for forgiveness, not permission." Disney, which is infamous for aggressively protecting its intellectual property, isn't having it - though how it responds to the threats is not always the same. On Friday, the entertainment company sent ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns Seedance and TikTok, a cease-and-desist letter, a spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider."

"In the letter, Disney accused ByteDance of supplying Seedance 2.0 with "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." "Over Disney's well-publicized objections, ByteDance is hijacking Disney's characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters," the letter said."

A hyperrealistic clip of Marvel's Wolverine fighting Thanos was generated by Seedance 2.0 and amassed over 142,000 views on X in 48 hours. Seedance 2.0, an AI video generation model from ByteDance, enabled users to create realistic videos including celebrity and franchise-based content. ByteDance's open approach reflects an AI industry tendency to 'ask for forgiveness, not permission' when using copyrighted material. Disney accused ByteDance of supplying Seedance with a pirated library of Disney characters and sent a cease-and-desist alleging reproduction, distribution, and derivative works. Disney has pursued legal action against other AI companies while occasionally negotiating deals in different cases.

Read at Business Insider