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Burbank Today
By the People, for the People
Warner Bros. Demands ByteDance Stop AI Videos of Batman, Superman and 'Game of Thrones'
The studio accuses the TikTok owner of 'blatant infringement' of its iconic characters and copyrighted properties.
Published on Feb. 20, 2026
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Warner Bros. has sent a cease and desist letter to ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, demanding the company stop training its AI on Warner Bros. characters like Batman, Superman, and those from 'Game of Thrones.' The studio accused ByteDance of 'blatant infringement' and facilitating user-generated knockoffs of its iconic characters through its new Seedance AI video platform.
Why it matters
This dispute highlights the growing tensions between entertainment companies and AI platforms over the use of copyrighted characters and intellectual property. As AI technology advances, studios are concerned about the unauthorized recreation and manipulation of their most valuable assets.
The details
In the letter, Warner Bros. accused ByteDance of deliberately designing Seedance to include its copyrighted characters, leading to a flood of user-generated videos featuring Batman, Superman, and characters from 'The Matrix,' 'The Lord of the Rings,' 'Harry Potter,' and other Warner Bros. properties. The studio acknowledged that ByteDance appears to be taking steps to block text prompts involving its characters, but said the lack of safeguards at Seedance's launch was unacceptable.
- On February 18, 2026, Warner Bros. sent a cease and desist letter to ByteDance.
- Last week, ByteDance released Seedance 2.0, which the company claimed represented a 'substantial leap in generation quality' over prior versions.
The players
Warner Bros.
A major American entertainment company and one of the largest producers of film, television, and video game content in the world.
ByteDance
The Chinese technology company that owns the social media platform TikTok and recently launched the AI video service Seedance.
Wayne Smith
The executive VP of legal at Warner Bros. Studios, who sent the cease and desist letter to ByteDance.
John Rogovin
The general counsel of ByteDance, who previously worked as general counsel at Warner Bros.
What they’re saying
“These characters are the lifeblood of the company. ByteDance is now engaged in blatant infringement of the very same properties you spent many years protecting.”
— Wayne Smith, Executive VP of Legal, Warner Bros. Studios (Variety)
“While this is a promising indication that we may resolve this dispute business to business, it nonetheless begs the question why guardrards that can so quickly and easily be implemented were not present upon Seedance's release.”
— Wayne Smith, Executive VP of Legal, Warner Bros. Studios (Variety)
What’s next
The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow ByteDance to continue operating Seedance while the dispute is resolved.
The takeaway
This dispute highlights the growing tensions between entertainment companies and AI platforms over the use of copyrighted characters and intellectual property. As AI technology advances, studios are increasingly concerned about the unauthorized recreation and manipulation of their most valuable assets, and are taking legal action to protect their intellectual property rights.
