"Synthetic" AI Performers Exposed! NY Law Now Requires Ad Labeling
SAG-AFTRA's Latest AI Victory Shows That Action & Advocacy Matter
Good morning readers, it’s your favorite time of the week — your weekly “brAIn” dump! This week’s “mAIn event” features a watershed moment for the Creative Community — New York’s new law that requires advertising disclaimers when synthetic performers are used. Then, it’s the “Must Attend” Event of the Week — an all-star “AI in Film” livestream tomorrow, Tuesday June 24th (5 pm Pacific) (I'm a featured speaker). Next, it’s the “Video of the Week” — my interview about “AI Entrepreneurship” — what it means, and how we should act in our AI-transforming world. On to the “cocktAIl” — my special mixology of key AI/media stories, podcasts and events. Finally, the “AI Litigation Tracker” — updates on key GenAI/media IP infringement cases by Partner Avery Williams of McKool Smith (access the “Tracker” here via this link).
But First …
(1) “Fair Use” Watch! Major Update in the Courts
Only one federal judge has ruled on the issue of “fair use” in the context of an AI copyright infringement case — rejecting the defense as a matter of law in Thomson Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence. Thomson Reuters is a non-generative AI case, but the Judge’s core rationale seemingly applies to generative AI cases as well (as I’ve written previously). But ROSS filed an immediate appeal on that “fair use” issue (what’s called an “interlocutory appeal”), due to its central role in the case.
And now, just last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted ROSS's appeal, which means it will either accept or reject the federal Judge’s “fair use” decision. This is the first case to reach an appellate court on the question of fair use for AI training. You can track it all in my “AI Litigation Tracker” (check it out via this link).
(2) Midjourney Doubles Down With Generative Video (& Plays With Fire)
Last week, I wrote about how Hollywood finally joined the AI copyright litigation fray — with both Disney and NBCUniversal suing generative image AI company Midjourney, which Disney calls “a bottomless pit of plagiarism.” Well, showing no remorse of any kind, and instead choosing to drive full steam ahead just one week later (consistent with Silicon Valley’s M.O.), Midjourney just launched its first generative video model “V1.” Good luck with that, Midjourney. Expect more litigation.
(3) Listen to My Most Recent Podcast About Hollywood Finally Joining the AI Copyright Fight
It’s a compelling discussion about my feature story from last week, “Hollywood Finally Joins the AI Copyright Fight!” I generated it using Google NotebookLM (and I approve its contents — and believe it is enlightening).
I. The mAIn Event - Synthetic Performers: No Longer Able To Run & Hide In Ads
Last week, just in time for Cannes Lions 2025 — the most important advertising industry soiree of the year — New York’s legislature passed a groundbreaking new law that requires advertisers (and those who create those ads) to conspicuously disclose when an AI-generated “synthetic human” is used in ads.
SAG-AFTRA — the guild that represents the faces and voices of over 160,000 individuals in the creative arts — was instrumental in the law’s passage. It called New York’s new law “a historic move marking a new era of transparency in artificial intelligence use in advertising … the first law in the country, and possibly in the world, to mandate disclaimers when consumers are being sold to by artificial intelligence-generated humans, or ‘synthetic performers.’” Now, as SAG-AFTRA pointed out in its statement, “If you are being sold to by a machine you will know it.” That all makes sense because “[p]eople deserve to know who is selling to them.”
But there’s more to this new law as well. It represents both an acceptance of this new AI reality in which we all live — AND a nod to humanity’s primacy in the order of things. Those two things are not mutually exclusive, after all. SAG puts it this way: “We must continue to acknowledge and defend the value of real human experience and artistry in all media and creative work”, even as we humans continue to explore the “unique opportunities” enabled by generative AI.
New York’s “statement” — and SAG-AFTRA’s actions and advocacy for its members that led to it — is an important one, especially during Cannes Lions week where the headline story was “going all-in” on AI (with a dose of defensiveness about the role of human creators). Agencies big and small couldn’t make those claims loudly enough.
WPP, for example, promoted its $400 million a year investment in its own AI platforms — in an effort to beat back Meta and other Big Tech total takeovers of their businesses. Meta had previously announced that it will be releasing generative AI tools that enable advertisers to bypass agencies altogether (The Hollywood Reporter titled one of its Cannes Lions feature stories, “Madison Avenue Braces for the AI Apocalypse”). Meanwhile, smaller marketing tech agency Monks essentially changed its pitch to be less “head creative” and more AI consulting “system integrator” (words used by co-founder Wesley ter Haar).
In the face of these new realities, New York’s new “synthetic performer” revealing act represents a narrowly tailored, fair and reasonable guardrail in an otherwise largely guardrail-less AI world that continues to self-generate. Congress, laden in gridlock, certainly isn’t regulating AI anytime soon. Nor will El Presidente — certainly not a huge fan of New York’s Madison Avenue or California’s Hollywood. After all, let’s not forget who stood behind him at his inauguration (Silicon Valley Tech Titans, you know who you are).
That means it’s left to the individual states to take action on behalf of the creative communities. And one by one, they are stepping up. Tennessee stepped up earlier with the “ELVIS Act” — protections against deepfakes. SAG-AFTRA just recently scored another big “guardrails” win on behalf of its members with its new tentative “Interactive Media Agreement” with major video game developers. That Agreement, which still needs to be ratified, covers the union’s voice and performance-capture talent used by those developers.
As we are now seeing time and time again, it takes proactivity — both on behalf of, and on the part of — the Creative Community to establish some fair basic rules of the generative AI game. Because those won’t be simply given to it by Big Tech AI developers.
New York stepped up big time here thanks to SAG-AFTRA and other key advocates. One week earlier, the major Hollywood studios — for the first time — joined the AI copyright fight when Disney and NBCUniversal sued con-artist Midjourney (it was the subject of my newsletter last week). In the rather poetic alliterative words of Disney’s general counsel Horacio Guiterrez, Midjourney is “a bottomless pit of plagiarism.”
Only action can lead to reaction. Reactions that are fair and reasonable. And reactions that the creative community need and deserve.
II. “Must Attend” Event of the Week: “AI In Film” Livestream
Join me tomorrow, Tuesday night June 24th, at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern for an amazing livestreamed event featuring an all-star class of entertainment and AI luminaries to discuss “AI in Film.” I’m thrilled to be one of four expert panelists — thanks to organizer/moderator/expert Curt Doty. Check out the bios of everyone in the image below — beyond impressive — all with incredible experience, deep wisdom and perspectives, and extremely strong and passionate opinions about it all.
You will absolutely learn a lot. The highly energized and entertaining discussion is sure to get spicy as we tackle what “AI in Film” means for the craft of filmmaking (and the jobs that go with it), what AI means to film IP rights (and protection) as we know it, and what it all means for Art itself. We frequently disagree with each other — vehemently — but we also respect each other. A lot. And that’s how progress happens.
III. Video of the Week: “On AI Entrepreneurship” My Interview for Media Entrepreneurship Class
Last week, I was interviewed by Robert Milazzo who is a professor, creator and founder of The Modern School of Film — an educational studio that has produced hundreds of masterclasses and educational events to explore the intersections of community, craft and culture. Our topic? “AI Entrepreneurship.”
It’s a wide-ranging discussion that bounced from the practical and pragmatic (getting a job in the creative industries, and best positioning yourself) to the more philosophical (how AI will transform the creative arts, and what it means for Art itself).
Watch the interview by clicking on the video link above. Think you’ll enjoy it.
IV. The cocktAIl — My AI/Media Mixology
(1) AI Video Reality Check: Yup, It’s Already That “Good”
For 90% of viewers, Google’s new Veo 3 video generator is already indiscernible from the real thing. Read about it here in TechRadar. But that, of course, doesn’t mean that it is necessarily “good” (as in, quality filmmaking and storytelling).
(2) AI Filmmaking Is No Longer Fringe
The burgeoning AI film festival market is proof positive of that. Read about Runway’s recent AI Film Festival in Los Angeles here.
(3) Westside Digital Mix Hosts Great Networking Events
Check out Westside Digital Mix. This group of media/tech experts host an ongoing series of great LA-based media, entertainment, AI/tech networking events. Its newsletter is also a helpful resource for all major media/tech events in the LA area. Check it out here.
V. AI Litigation Tracker: Updates on Key Generative AI/Media Cases (by McKool Smith)
Partner Avery Williams and the team at McKool Smith (named “Plaintiff IP Firm of the Year” by The National Law Journal) lay out the facts of — and latest critical developments in — the key GenAI-focused IP litigations below. All those detailed updates can be accessed via this link to the “AI Litigation Tracker”. McKool is a leader in both copyright and patent-related AI litigation — and all IP and general media, entertainment, AI and tech matters.
(1) Reddit v. Anthropic
(2) Kadrey v. Meta
(3) The New York Times v. Microsoft & OpenAI
(4) Ziff-Davis v. OpenAI
(5) Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence
(6) In re OpenAI Litigation (class action)
(7) Dow Jones, et al. v. Perplexity AI
(8) UMG Recordings v. Suno
(9) UMG Recordings v. Uncharted Labs (d/b/a Udio)
(10) Getty Images v. Stability AI and Midjourney
(11) Universal Music Group, et al. v. Anthropic
(12) Sarah Anderson v. Stability AI
(13) Raw Story Media v. OpenAI
(14) The Center for Investigative Reporting v. OpenAI
(15) Authors Guild et al. v. OpenAI
NOTE: Go to the “AI Litigation Tracker” tab at the top of “the brAIn” website for the full discussions and analyses of these and other key generative AI/media litigations. And reach out to me, Peter Csathy (peter@creativemedia.biz), if you would like to be connected to McKool Smith) to discuss these and other legal and litigation issues. I’ll make the introduction.
Want to Work Together?
Reach out to me at peter@creativemedia.biz.
About My Firm Creative Media
My firm and I represent media companies and rights-holders for generative AI content strategy and licensing, with deep relationships and market insights and intelligence second to none. We know the key players inside AI tech and pride ourselves in reaching THE key decision-makers and influencers in record time to execute. Not just talk. We specialize in breakthrough business development and M&A and cost-effective legal services in the worlds of media, entertainment, AI and tech.
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Hi Peter I really enjoyed this video of the week with Robert. Ai24 is a great iDea. I’m ready for it ✊🏾 SERENDIPITY 🤩