NIO CEO Says China’s Auto Industry Has Passed Its Golden Era Amid Weak Car Sales 
Salesforce Q1 FY2027 Earnings Beat Expectations Despite Soft Q2 Revenue Outlook 
European EV Sales Surge in April 2026 as Tesla and Chinese Automakers Gain Ground 
SK Hynix Joins $1 Trillion Club as AI Chip Demand Fuels Stock Surge 
Elon Musk Explores Possible Tesla-SpaceX Merger Amid Growing AI Investments 
Mega IPOs Like SpaceX and OpenAI Could Reshape S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Portfolios in 2026 
PDG Explores $1 Billion Sale of China Data Center Assets 
CTOC Goes Live on Bitget Wallet Trading, Expanding Global Access to AI-Powered Healthcare Data Ecosystem 
Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions 
Snowflake Stock Soars 30% After Q1 Earnings Beat and Major AWS AI Partnership 
Costco Q3 Fiscal 2026 Earnings Beat Expectations as Sales and E-Commerce Surge 
US Quantum Stocks Surge After $2 Billion Government Investment 
HP Q2 2026 Earnings Beat Expectations Despite Memory Chip Pressure 
Meta Subscription Push Could Add Billions in Recurring Revenue, Says Rosenblatt 
Synopsys Q2 FY2026 Earnings Beat Driven by AI and Semiconductor Demand 
Universal Music Group Rejects Pershing Square Takeover Proposal 
EU Antitrust Probe Could Lead to Massive Google Fine Under DMA Rules 
Disney has sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, accusing the Chinese tech giant of using copyrighted Disney characters to train and power its Seedance 2.0 AI video generator without authorization, according to a source familiar with the matter. The dispute highlights growing tensions between major entertainment companies and artificial intelligence developers over intellectual property rights and AI-generated content.
In the letter, Disney reportedly claims that Seedance 2.0 was pre-packaged with a pirated library of characters from blockbuster franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel. The media conglomerate alleges that these copyrighted characters were presented as if they were public-domain assets. According to the source, Seedance has reproduced, distributed, and created derivative works featuring well-known figures including Spider-Man and Darth Vader, raising serious concerns about copyright infringement and unauthorized use of intellectual property.
ByteDance told the BBC it plans to strengthen safeguards within its Seedance 2.0 AI video tool to prevent the misuse of copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses. However, the company did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The move was first reported by Axios, while Variety noted that Paramount Skydance has also issued a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, accusing the firm of “blatant infringement” involving its own intellectual property.
Seedance 2.0, launched last week, has quickly gained traction in China. Viral AI-generated videos include a cinematic fight scene featuring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The AI model has drawn comparisons to DeepSeek and earned praise for generating high-quality, cinematic storylines from simple prompts.
Disney has previously taken action against AI platforms, including Character.AI, over unauthorized character usage. Notably, in December, Disney signed a licensing agreement with OpenAI, allowing the use of characters from Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel in OpenAI’s Sora video generator, signaling a strategic approach to AI partnerships while protecting its intellectual property rights.
