18 August 2026

ByteDance agrees to copyright protections with Hollywood studios

• The Motion Picture Association, which represents Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, signed a formal agreement with ByteDance covering copyright safeguards across its AI video models including those used in TikTok and CapCut.
• The deal came after the MPA sent a cease-and-desist letter in February alleging ByteDance's AI systems used copyrighted material without permission, which ByteDance disputed by pledging stronger protections.
• ByteDance's latest model releases, Seedream 5.0 Pro and Seedance 2.5, now include what the MPA calls meaningful guardrails to prevent unauthorized use of copyrighted films and TV shows.

How it was covered

The Rundown AIRowan Cheung

ByteDance signed a formal framework with the Motion Picture Association to implement film and TV copyright protections into its Seedance and Seedream models after a cease-and-desist over a viral Tom Cruise deepfake. The newsletter notes this is one domino among many Chinese AI video labs, making it a tough problem for MPA to tackle entirely.

Reported by Engadget