A screen shows the logo and a ticker symbol for The Walt Disney Company on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 21, 2025.
Image: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
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ByteDance pledges to prevent unauthorised IP use on AI video tool after Disney threat
ByteDance will take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property on its AI video generator Seedance 2.0, the Chinese technology firm said on Monday, following threats of legal action from U.S. studios, including Disney. Videos generated by Seedance 2.0, which was released last week, have gone viral in China including one of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a fight. The AI model has been compared to DeepSeek and has been praised for its ability to produce cinematic storylines with just a few prompts. Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, accusing the Chinese firm of using Disney characters to train and power Seedance 2.0 without permission, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters late on Sunday. Disney said ByteDance had pre-packaged Seedance with a pirated library of copyrighted characters from franchises including Star Wars and Marvel, portraying them as if they were public-domain clip art, the person said.
Warner Bros weighs reopening sale talks with Paramount
Warner Bros Discovery is considering reopening sale talks with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance after receiving its hostile suitor's most recent amended offer, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Members of Warner Bros' board are discussing whether Paramount could offer the path to a superior deal, the Bloomberg report said, adding that the board has not decided how to respond and may stick to the current deal with Netflix. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Paramount, Warner Bros and Netflix did not respond to requests for comment. Paramount had enhanced its Warner Bros bid last week by offering shareholders extra cash for each quarter the deal fails to close after this year. It also agreed to cover the breakup fee the HBO parent would owe Netflix if it walked away, even though the CBS owner did not raise its per-share offer.
Shares subdued in Asia by holidays, dismal Japan data
Asian shares quietly consolidated recent hefty gains on Monday as the Lunar New Year holiday made for thin trading, while dismal economic data out of Japan took some air out of that booming market. China, South Korea, Taiwan were among the markets that were closed, leaving currencies and bonds becalmed, but precious metals under fresh pressure. Japan reported its economy grew a miserly 0.2% annualised in the December quarter, far below the 1.6% gain forecast as government spending dragged on activity. The disappointing figures underline the tough task ahead for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and should support her push for more aggressive fiscal stimulus. Japan's Nikkei, edged up 0.2%, having climbed 5% last week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.4%. South Korea's tech-heavy market surged 8.2% last week, while Taiwan climbed almost 6% for the week.