The streaming giant issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding that ByteDance remove Netflix-owned content from its AI training datasets and introduce stricter safeguards to prevent further infringement, News.Az reports, citing Variety.
According to the letter, Seedance 2.0 functions as a “high-speed piracy engine,” producing large volumes of unauthorized derivative works based on Netflix’s characters, storylines, and fictional universes.
Mindy LeMoine, Netflix’s director of litigation, accused ByteDance of treating the company’s intellectual property as if it were in the public domain. Netflix specifically cited alleged infringements involving Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters, Squid Game, and Bridgerton.
The letter claims that AI-generated videos are circulating online featuring detailed recreations of costumes and scenes — including Season 4 masquerade ball outfits from Bridgerton, such as Sophie Baek’s “Lady in Silver” gown. Netflix also alleges that ByteDance promoted some of this content on social media using hashtags related to the show.
Additionally, Netflix pointed to AI-generated clips replicating scenes from the Stranger Things series finale, including depictions of characters and creatures such as Demogorgons and the Mind Flayer. The company further claims users created unauthorized crossover content, inserting public figures into fictional settings like the Squid Game universe, and reproducing the distinctive visual style of KPop Demon Hunters and its lead character, Rumi.
Netflix’s action follows similar complaints from The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Global, and Warner Bros., all of which have accused ByteDance of enabling intellectual property theft through Seedance 2.0.
ByteDance said earlier this week that it would introduce additional guardrails to prevent misuse of copyrighted material and actors’ likenesses. However, Netflix and Warner Bros. indicated that those measures are insufficient.
In its letter, Netflix also sought to counter any potential “fair use” defense, arguing that using copyrighted works to build a competing commercial product — particularly one that closely replicates original content — does not qualify for such protection.
Seedance 2.0 has drawn attention for its ability to generate synchronized video and audio content from minimal prompts, marking a significant technological step forward in AI-powered media creation.
