Disney sued ByteDance to protect its characters. And a $1 billion OpenAI deal.

It’s Monday! It’s New Year’s Eve (here in Vietnam).

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Today, we look at ByteDance’s (TikTok’s) new video AI.

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The take: Disney isn't defending its characters from Seedance 2.0 — it's defending the price tag it put on them two months ago.

What happened: ByteDance launched AI video generator Seedance 2.0 on 12 February, and within 48 hours, Disney, Paramount, actors' union SAG-AFTRA, and Japan's government all came swinging.

Why it matters: Disney licensed 200+ characters to OpenAI for $1 billion in December. ByteDance just offered the same ones for free.

What to watch: ByteDance patched its content filters fast. The real test is whether this becomes the case that forces governments to pick sides.

ByteDance already blocked real-person image uploads. Presumably, Darth Vader doesn't count as a real person. Yet.

Background: Disney invested $1 billion in OpenAI and signed a three-year licensing deal giving Sora access to 200+ animated characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. No real actors' faces or voices included. A joint committee polices what users can make.

Key quote: Bob Iger, Disney CEO: "We will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators."

Strategic timing: Disney signed that deal on 11 December. Two months later, Seedance 2.0 launched. Disney's cease-and-desist arrived the next day.

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Disney didn't suddenly discover it cared about AI-generated Spider-Man.

It sent Google a cease-and-desist that same December — the week it signed the OpenAI deal.

If anyone can generate Disney characters for free, nobody pays $1 billion for the licence.

Japan's investigation adds a second front.

Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda said the anime violations "cannot be overlooked."

But Japan's content industry has no matching OpenAI deal to protect. Tokyo is defending the intellectual property.

Disney is defending that and a billion-dollar bet.

One is about law.

The other is about leverage.

Pro: Cease-and-desist letters are the right response — AI companies shouldn't profit from copyrighted characters without licensing deals, full stop.

Con: Disney licensed the same characters to OpenAI two months ago. This isn't about protecting art. It's about controlling who gets to cash in.

Our read: ByteDance broke the law, and Disney wrote the playbook. The only question is whether copyright enforcement and market control remain distinct. (Spoiler: ask the lawyers billing by the hour).

OpenAI–Disney licensing announcement (11 December 2025) — the original deal that explains why Disney moved so fast. The $1 billion investment and the 200+ character list. Read this, and the cease-and-desist looks less like a creative principle and more like a corporate strategy.

Two months between Disney's $1bn AI deal and its first AI lawsuit. — Axios

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For the love of coffee, see you Wednesday!

We’re taking tomorrow off to celebrate the year of the horse with family and friends.

If you celebrate: Chuc Mung Nam Oi! (Vietnamese for HNY).

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