AI, control and the question of consent

Opinion – Week in Focus

The CEO of TrueRights explains why transforming intellectual property (IP) management is vital to ensuring the creative economy not only survives but thrives.

Generative AI did not arrive gradually. One year, it was demonstrated in controlled environments; the next, it appeared in brand campaigns and commercial briefs.

That pace has left many in the creative industries trying to catch up. While the ability to scale content, reduce production timelines, and open new revenue streams is commercially attractive to brands and advertisers, creative talent shares genuine concerns about control.

Where is my likeness being used? Who approved it? What happens if it is altered in ways I did not agree to? This debate can quickly become dramatic and adversarial. 

AI does not herald the end of creative work, but it has underlined the existing limitations in rights management. The lack of a consistent system governing the licensing of image rights and creative works has created a trust-based relationship between talent and brands that cannot survive the introduction of AI.

Usage can be difficult to track. Compensation models are unclear. Enforcement tends to happen after problems surface rather than before. 

Digital rights management is changing this model. With standardised pricing, effective usage management, and proactive contract enforcement, both talent and brands have a consistent, trusted way to work together.

But first, an introduction

Fears surrounding the impact of AI on talent are escalating fast. And while there are genuine concerns regarding the misuse of content, the management of deep fakes and unauthorised use for AI training, the reality is that rights management was already a concern.

The lack of transparency, inconsistent pricing, and inability to track and monitor content usage are hindering both talent and brands. Without a standardised model, pricing negotiations are complex.

What are the rights associated with a global contract? Across which platforms? Is it exclusive? And, if so, for how long? 

For talent, there is an obvious vulnerability: what is a fair price for this agreement? How can usage be controlled and managed? What, if any, steps can be taken if content is misused?

But the issue is also affecting advertisers seeking to align value with forecasted performance. Inconsistent agency pricing is further muddied by hidden fees added at every layer of negotiation, from influencer agencies to talent agencies, and from creative agencies to media agencies. 

Some talent respond to exclusivity demands and global reach by hiking up premiums to unjustifiable levels; others are, without any doubt, being undervalued. For many creative individuals, the sheer complexity and lack of control are becoming a deterrent from even entering the market.

Chasing value

Until now, there has been no accurate perception of true value. No understanding of how to calculate, let alone achieve a fair price. And while it is important for talent to achieve that essential balance between pricing themselves out of the market and exploitation, there is a bigger problem: AI displacement.

If talent fails to adopt the right processes to become AI-ready, the future will look bleak. Six out of ten of the adverts run during the massively high-profile US Superbowl involved AI, and while cost and speed are factors in AI adoption, if advertisers cannot gain seamless access to talent at a fair price, they will use a synthetic avatar. 

Talent needs to be protected. Creative individuals clearly need not only to be paid fairly but also to have a way to protect their IP from misuse and abuse.

It is also important to provide a way for inexperienced individuals to enter the market: high-value athletes, actors, models, and influencers can afford managers and legal teams to handle contract negotiations. But, for the rest, the creative market can appear unmanaged and unmanageable. 

It is also important to recognise that protection includes safeguarding, even enhancing, their access to the market, and that demands a way to make the process of acquiring and working with talent easy for the budget-holding brands and advertisers.

If they are to invest in genuine content, rather than an AI avatar, they need to see value. They need to ensure rights licensing is fair, that values are consistent, and that talent complies with agreed usage rights. Both sides of the industry need to trust each other.

Standardisation and harmonisation

There is no value in either side becoming entrenched in their position. Success for both talent and advertisers is to find a way to effectively manage rights – including payment, reach and exclusivity – in a way that boosts opportunities and return for all.

Transparency is key to achieving this goal. Rather than relying on individually negotiated contracts and hoping that key usage and exclusivity clauses are adhered to, digital technologies can now underpin a very different approach.

A digital rights management platform can aid the negotiation process by creating standardised pricing models across platforms and geographies to bring consistency to how talent is valued.

It supports both talent and agencies in proactively managing multiple relationships by highlighting usage and exclusivity clauses, minimising the risk of expensive, reputation-damaging mistakes. And, critically, it can provide confidence through tracking usage globally and flagging any out-of-contract activity, whether accidental or intentional. 

Furthermore, by simplifying the process and offering standardised pricing, a digital rights management platform provides new ways for less experienced creative talent to access the market.

Individuals can leverage consistent pricing and usage clauses to both calculate fair value and generate contracts with confidence. With knowledge that exclusivity clashes will be highlighted and usage automatically monitored and tracked, the barriers to entry are removed, allowing a raft of creative talent to engage directly with brands and advertisers with confidence.

Embracing change

The talent industry has worked hard for decades to build a strong creative economy, but the phenomenal pace of AI adoption is raising the risk of displacement.

The rise of deepfakes and the misuse of talent across diverse global platforms is a major concern. Individuals feel vulnerable, and the lack of accountability leaves little opportunity for redress.

Talent needs to be treated fairly. And the only way to create a fair market based on fair value for talent is to foster a strong brand-talent relationship. 

In a digital-first world, global transparency is completely transforming IP rights management. A model once predicated on trust is breaking down, and by leveraging technology to standardise pricing, improve clause negotiation, and, critically, monitor IP usage throughout the contract lifecycle and beyond, digital rights management is providing the knowledge and insight required to rebuild the trust that underpins a thriving creative economy.

Benjamin Woollams is the CEO of TrueRights