AI Plunder: Chinese Tech Creates Bootleg ‘The Office’ Videos, Hollywood IP at Risk!

Welcome to Rendering, a Deadline column that explores the intersection of artificial intelligence and the entertainment sector. Rendering delves into how AI is revolutionizing showbiz, bringing you into the heart of major conflicts and highlighting influential individuals who use this tech for better or worse. If you have an AI-related story, Rendering is interested. Contact us at jkanter@deadline.com.

Curious about seeing Kim Jong Un crash a meeting at Dunder Mifflin, or Darth Vader taking out Ross Geller? Just visit X/Twitter, where AI enthusiasts are eagerly transforming popular characters with their latest tools, all while boldly claiming that Hollywood is “done for.”

This scenario unfolds almost every time a new AI model hits the market. This week, I fully expected Seedance 2.5 to dominate the headlines. The video creation tool from ByteDance had the AI community on edge after the previous version, Seedance 2.0, both impressed content creators and alarmed intellectual property owners.

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However, it wasn’t Seedance 2.5 that captured everyone’s attention. Instead, AI enthusiasts have been fixated on Hailuo 3, the latest release by MiniMax, a key player in China’s rapidly growing AI scene. Although MiniMax H3 isn’t directly accessible in the U.S. or the European Union, it has still managed to become a sensation outside of China through third-party platforms.

Tech investor Justine Moore from Andreessen Horowitz created a clip featuring Dwight and Jim from The Office using a simple H3 text prompt on Krea, an online hub that offers access to various AI models. Despite the processing through MiniMax’s servers, Moore’s experiment indicates potential lapses in enforcing copyright protections.

Meanwhile, MiniMax is currently defending against a lawsuit from heavyweights like Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros., who accuse Hailuo of “massively pirating and plundering copyrighted material.” The lawsuit even mentions promotional AI videos featuring Deadpool, Wolverine, and The Joker, which were initially shared on MiniMax’s official YouTube channel but have since been removed. MiniMax has denied these accusations.

MiniMax chose not to comment on these issues. At the launch of H3, a spokesperson mentioned that the full model wouldn’t be available in the U.S. due to “ongoing copyright-related legal concerns specifically regarding generative video AI.”

The lesser impact of Seedance 2.5 suggests that ByteDance has tightened its controls after the uproar caused by Seedance 2.0, which included a viral deepfake battle between Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Following cease and desist letters from Netflix, Disney, and others, ByteDance vowed improvements.

That said, ByteDance models are not completely secure. VN.ai, a startup that tests AI tools for copyright violations, was able to create unauthorized images of Elsa, Shrek, and Buzz Lightyear using ByteDance’s Seedream 5.0, according to research reviewed by the Rendering column.

VN.ai conducted these tests via a third-party API, suggesting that ByteDance’s internal safeguards might be stronger. Still, by slightly modifying their requests, VN.ai was able to bypass restrictions and generate a recognizable image of Buzz Lightyear. This practice, known as “red teaming,” involves testing a system’s defenses by attempting to circumvent them.

ByteDance, while not the only company facing these challenges, is actively addressing them, stating: “ByteDance launches models with safeguards designed to prevent unauthorized use of intellectual property, and continually works to expand and strengthen these in collaboration with rightsholders and creative communities.”

The response from U.S. studios and their trade association, the Motion Picture Association, has been clear-cut, relying on legal actions and warnings to state their stance on IP infringement. Yet, the ongoing issues with MiniMax H3 and Seedream 5.0 illustrate the continuous and global challenge of policing these violations.