MPA and ByteDance Announce Global Agreement to Protect Intellectual Property on AI Video and Image Generation Models
MOU Marks Significant Step Forward to Safeguard Intellectual Property on Seedance and Seedream and Further Protect the Film and TV Industry
WASHINGTON – The Motion Picture Association and ByteDance today announced they have reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reflecting a shared framework to maintain strong guardrails on generative AI video and image models like Seedance and Seedream – offered by TikTok, the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, CapCut and Dreamina, among others – with the goal of protecting intellectual property.
This agreement represents significant cooperation between the two organizations. Shortly after the MPA sent a cease and desist letter to ByteDance in February in connection with Seedream 5.0 Lite and Seedance 2.0, the parties engaged in constructive conversations. More recently, the launches of Seedream 5.0 Pro and Seedance 2.5 have reflected ByteDance’s continued advances in IP protections.
“Today’s agreement illustrates our belief that copyright is a cornerstone of the film and television industry – and reinforces our commitment to protect creative content,” said MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin. “For the past several months, we have had constructive engagement with ByteDance to implement meaningful guardrails on Seedance and Seedream, and this MOU reflects our shared determination to continue our work together to further fortify those guardrails.”
“ByteDance respects the intellectual property rights that underpin creative industries around the world, and we believe responsible innovation in AI goes hand in hand with meaningful protections for rightsholders,” said John Rogovin, General Counsel, ByteDance. “We appreciate the productive engagement with the MPA and its members as we continue to strengthen safeguards across our generative AI services. This MOU establishes an important framework for continued collaboration as the technology evolves, across a variety of products and platforms.”
The MOU is an important step forward in establishing that IP can and should be protected in the generative AI space, and it formalizes meaningful progress in recent months to further strengthen safeguards on ByteDance’s platforms. As AI evolves, the MPA and ByteDance will continue working together to protect creative content in markets worldwide.
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About The Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) serves as the leading voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works in every corner of the globe to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world. Its member studios are: Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
About ByteDance
ByteDance is a global technology company whose mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. The company develops products and services that empower people and organizations to create, connect, and discover, with privacy, trust, and safety embedded throughout its technologies and operations.
MPA Media Contact
John Mercurio
john_mercurio@motionpictures.org
ByteDance Media Contact
Karen Hobson