philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

As AI Battle Lines Are Drawn, Studios Align With Big Tech in a Risky Bet

... The unions landed on opposite sides of several hot-button issues with the Motion Picture Association, which reps major studios like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. The MPA was joined by Meta, OpenAI and tech advocacy groups. Where they diverge the most is whether new legislation is warranted to address the unauthorized use of copyrighted material to train AI systems and the mass generation of potentially infringing works based on existing content. This has prompted some creators to question why studios aren’t allying themselves with actors and writers and against AI companies to oppose what could constitute the mass pilfering of their material in violation of intellectual property laws.

“Studios should be protecting their copyrights,” a WGA member tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s shortsighted, because it demotes them to another source of content for these AI firms.” ...

A representative for Scarlett Johansson last week said the actress took legal action against an AI app developer for using her name and likeness in an online ad posted on X that featured an AI-generated version of her voice. While copyright law doesn’t account for a person’s voice or face, some states carry right of publicity laws that protect against unauthorized commercial uses of a person’s name, likeness and persona. It’s meant to provide individuals the exclusive right to profit off of their identities. ...

See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ai-copyright-law-studios-tech-actors-writers-1235638242/