The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has signed a unique memorandum-of-understanding with ByteDance, the China-based parent company of TikTok, that is aimed at strengthening the foundation of intellectual property protections around generative artificial intelligence (AI) video and image models, the companies said on Monday.
The agreement establishes a shared framework for guardrails covering ByteDance models including Seedance and Seedream. Those models are offered through products and platforms including TikTok, the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, CapCut and Dreamina.
The agreement follows months of discussions between the MPA and ByteDance after the Hollywood trade group sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance in February. That letter was tied to concerns over Seedream 5.0 Lite and Seedance 2.0.
The two organizations said they later engaged in constructive talks over how to implement more meaningful protections around the models. The announcement said more recent launches of Seedream 5.0 Pro and Seedance 2.5 demonstrated ByteDance’s continued progress in improving intellectual property safeguards.
The agreement comes as studios, technology companies, creators and policymakers continue to debate how generative AI systems should be developed, trained and deployed without infringing copyrighted works. For the MPA, the issue is central to protecting film and television content as AI tools become more capable of creating images and videos that can resemble professional entertainment assets.
“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,” Charles Rivkin, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the MPA, said in a statement on Monday.
Rivkin said the trade group has spent several months working with ByteDance on safeguards for Seedance and Seedream.
“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,” Rivkin noted.
ByteDance also framed the agreement as part of a broader effort to pair AI development with copyright protections.
“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,” John Rogovin, General Counsel of ByteDance, said.
Rogovin said the MOU establishes a framework for continued collaboration with the MPA and its member companies as AI technology changes across products and platforms.
