IP and AI Slop: Why is Pikachu Fighting Darth Vader on My Instagram Feed?

Speakers:

• Rita Lin, Intellectual Property Attorney, Entrepreneur, and the Founder of ESQed
• Shruti Chopra, Partner, Linklaters LLP
• Lena Kempe, Founder, LK Law Firm

Moderator:

• Greg Pan, Partner, Nolan Heimann LLP

Program Chair: Greg Pan, Co-Chair, Intellectual Property Committee

In the past year, we saw a leap in near-Hollywood-quality generative AI videos spreading like wildfire, coming from the models of several AI companies, including OpenAI, Grok, Deepseek, and others. Many use the likenesses of popular characters and celebrities without authorization, and these videos have been showing up on our social media feeds. What is going on here? How is this allowed to happen and where is this going to go next? In this panel, we will talk with lawyers and professionals to discuss how these came to be, what the legal issues are around them, and what this means for the future of content.

Three key takeaways:

• Attendees will get some background on where these videos came from, who is making them, and why they are being made.
• Attendees will learn about the legal issues and ramifications of these videos and what, if anything, can be done by IP owners.
• Attendees will hear takeaways from people close to this field on what this technology means for the existing industry, whether safeguards can be created to protect IP owners, and what could happen next.