ByteDance and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) have signed an agreement aimed at strengthening copyright protections for the Chinese company’s AI video and image models.
The agreement, signed on Monday, comes months after ByteDance was sent a cease-and-desist letter asking the Chinese company to stop its “infringing activity.”
Variety reports that the MPA and ByteDance have developed a framework to protect Hollywood’s intellectual property across the company’s suite of tools, including Seedance and Seedream.
In February, a viral AI video of actors Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt spooked Hollywood and prompted the MPA to accuse ByteDance of “disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs… on a massive scale.”
This was a 2 line prompt in seedance 2. If the hollywood is cooked guys are right maybe the hollywood is cooked guys are cooked too idk. pic.twitter.com/dNTyLUIwAV
— Ruairi Robinson (@RuairiRobinson) February 11, 2026
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two parties was announced after the release of Seedance 2.5 and Seedream 50 Pro last month, in which the IP protections have reportedly been put in place.
“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,” MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin says in a statement.
“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,” adds John Rogovin, ByteDance’s general counsel.
“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 MPA calls the MOU 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.”
Image creditsHeader photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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