ByteDance backpedals after Seedance 2.0 turned Hollywood icons into AI “clip art”

Here's something that caught my attention — ByteDance's latest AI tool, Seedance 2.0, sparked a huge backlash after turning beloved Hollywood icons like Spider-Man and Darth Vader into what looked like AI clip art. Now, Ashley Belanger reports that the company’s scrambling to add safeguards because studios like Disney and Paramount are furious. They sent cease-and-desist letters, accusing ByteDance of wide-scale copyright infringement, essentially treating these characters like they're public domain. The studios argue that Seedance was “hijacking” their IP without permission, and the backlash is a clear warning about how easy it is for AI tools to cross legal lines fast. So what does this mean? Well, it’s a sign that even in the fast-moving world of AI, respecting copyright isn’t optional — especially when Hollywood’s watching. Ashley Belanger highlights how this incident might just be a wake-up call for all companies rushing AI features without clear safeguards in place.