Sony Joins Studio Protest Against ‘Egregious’ Seedance 2.0 Infringement, Citing ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Spider-Verse’ AI Clips

Sony Pictures has joined the outcry against Seedance 2.0, the Chinese video platform that has united Hollywood studios in their condemnation of AI-generated copyright infringement.

In a cease and desist letter sent Wednesday, the studio demanded that ByteDance immediately remove its valuable IP — including “Breaking Bad” and the “Spider-Verse” films — from the Seedance AI training data.

“Given the egregious nature of Seedance 2.0’s outputs and the complete lack of observable copyright guardrails at launch, Spe can only conclude that ByteDance’s infringements are willful,” wrote Jill Ratner, general counsel of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Sony is the fifth studio to lodge a protest directly with ByteDance, following similar letters from Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Netflix. ByteDance has sought to reassure copyright holders that it will strengthen its measures to prevent copyright infringement and misuse of actors’ likenesses, but that has not quelled the protest.

“Spe will not tolerate delayed or half-baked measures,…