Warner Bros. launches ByteDance for AI videos of Superman and Batman
Warner Bros. has joined a parade of studios accusing ByteDance of “blatant infringement” of its new AI video service, accusing the Chinese company of facilitating user-generated knockoffs of its iconic characters.
The studio’s legal counsel sent a letter Tuesday to ByteDance general counsel John Rogovin, who previously worked as general counsel at Warner Bros. The letter notes Rogovin’s previous services defending the copyrights of Superman and Batman.
“These characters are the lifeblood of the company,” wrote Wayne Smith, the executive VP of legal at Warner Bros. Studios. “ByteDance is now blatantly infringing on the very same property you have protected for years.”
Warner Bros. demanded that ByteDance stop training its characters and implement guardrails to prevent further infringement.
ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, released Seedance 2.0 last week, announcing that it represents a “substantial leap in generational quality” over previous versions. Within days, social media sites were flooded with cinematic-looking clips of Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt, Batman vs. Spider-Man, Superman vs. Thanos, and other permutations.
Users also posted “alternate endings” for movies and TV shows, including one of the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”
The Motion Picture Association and SAG-AFTRA quickly denounced the new platform, while Disney and Paramount sent last-minute letters last week. On Monday, ByteDance promised to implement additional security measures “as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users.”
Warner Bros. satisfied that promise. not, who states in the letter that the focus on users is misplaced.
“[T]The users are not the ones at the origin of the infringement,” Smith wrote. “They are merely building on the foundation of infringement already laid by ByteDance, as Seedance is pre-loaded with Warner Bros. copyrighted characters. Discovery. That was a conscious design choice by ByteDance.”
The letter cites posts on It also quotes fight scenes with Batman, Catwoman and Superman.
Warner Bros. acknowledges that ByteDance appears to be taking steps to block text prompts related to its characters.
“While this is a promising indication that we can resolve this dispute on a business-to-business basis, it nevertheless begs the question as to why Seedance’s release was not accompanied by guardrails that could be implemented so quickly and easily,” the letter said.
