Nvidia Sets $4M CEO Bonus Target for Fiscal 2027 as AI Demand Drives Revenue Growth 
Oracle Stock Surges as AI Data Center Boom Drives Revenue Beat and Bullish 2027 Outlook 
Robinhood Banking Surpasses $1 Billion in Deposits Following Successful Relaunch 
Qantas Raises International Fares as Middle East Conflict Drives Jet Fuel Costs Higher 
Amazon Engineers Investigate AI-Linked Outages as GenAI Coding Tools Raise Reliability Concerns 
California Court Rejects xAI Bid to Block AI Data Transparency Law 
Amazon Website Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Shoppers Before Services Recover 
Pokemon Pokopia Sells 2.2 Million Copies in Four Days, Boosting Nintendo Switch 2 Momentum 
UK Regulators Demand Social Media Platforms Strengthen Children's Age Verification 
U.S. Senate Greenlights AI Chatbots for Official Staff Use 
Anduril Industries Acquires ExoAnalytic Solutions to Bolster Space Defense Capabilities 
U.S. Considers New Rules Tying AI Chip Exports to Investment and Security Guarantees 
Microsoft Backs Anthropic in Legal Fight Against Pentagon's AI Blacklist 
Thomas Mazloum Named Chair of Disney Experiences as Leadership Shakeup Takes Effect 
Foxconn Sees Strong Growth Ahead Despite Limited Impact From U.S.–Israel–Iran Tensions 
Broadcom Stock Jumps After Strong Earnings Beat and Bullish AI Revenue Outlook 
Apple Bets Big on India: iPhone Production Hits 55 Million Units as China Reliance Fades 
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.
