ByteDance and the Motion Picture Association signed a memorandum of understanding covering the guardrails on ByteDance’s generative video and image models, among them Seedance and Seedream, which users reach through TikTok, the TikTok USDS joint venture, CapCut, and Dreamina. The MPA sent ByteDance a cease-and-desist in February after Seedance produced realistic scenes starring actors who never agreed to appear in them, including one clip of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting on a rooftop. ByteDance says the newest versions of Seedance already carry stronger IP protections. The MOU describes a shared framework rather than a set of binding terms, and the announcement doesn’t say what the models will now refuse to generate.
