Generative AI’s dirty not-so-little secret isn’t the magic — it’s the potential liability — and not just for generative AI tool creators. Every Creator firing up Seedance, ChatGPT, Midjourney, or Gemini for image or video generation is one prompt away from generating someone else’s copyrighted character, brand logo, or face/likeness. And here’s the kicker — you Creators usually don’t even know it.
That resemblance you can’t see? A plaintiff’s lawyer can. And yes, Virginia, there is potential secondary copyright infringement liability. No bueno to be sure.
This is why pre-clearance risk mitigation is essential. And now that technology exists.
There’s a new AI sheriff in town — CopySight.ai — a startup that’s raised approximately $3.6 million. Think of it as “spell check” for IP — or, as its founders pitch it, a “FICO score” for copyright or name/image/likeness (NIL) risk. The company’s core product, Similarity Score, scans an AI output and grades it 1 to 100 against existing IP and real-person likeness. The higher the score, the higher the IP/NIL infringement risk.
Generate something that “smells” like Darth Vader, “feels” straight out of Studio Ghibli, or looks like a Tom Cruise? CopySight flags it — character resemblance, trademark overlap, and (critically for those of us like me who care about NIL and biometrics) celebrity likeness. If your Similarity Score is under 35, you’re in safe territory — no harm, no foul. But if your AI output’s score creeps above 75, that’s not a warning. That’s legal smoke — and potential legal fire (i.e., the proverbial smoking gun). Your Similarity Score is color coded too. Green? All good. Yellow? Proceed with caution. Red? You’re in “unsafe” territory.
How accurate is CopySight? Hard to say. I haven’t put it through its paces myself. But one trusted executive told me that although they use it, the results are far from perfect. In this exec’s words, “CopySight is not proving to be as helpful as we had hoped. Very inconsistent results from image scans.” In one example, CopySight first gave them the “all clear.” But when they tested again with the same content, CopySight indicated that the output was likely infringing.
Still, even if far from perfect, CopySight is an example of new AI policing tools worth checking out to mitigate IP/NIL infringement risk.
The mere fact that you and your firm use this new “spell check” tool before using any AI generated content is an example of “good faith” on your part — i.e., a lack of intent on the question of infringement.
For its part, CopySight also offers a “Proof of Creation” logging system. By documenting everything from initial prompt logs to the human iterations that follow, it establishes a verifiable audit trail that proves substantial human involvement. And that’s a critical requirement for creators to be eligible for copyright protection for their works.
CopySight does not grant you any rights. It does not pay the Artist whose style you just “borrowed.” Detection is step one (i.e., the CopySight step). Consent, credit, and compensation — the Creator’s holy triumvirate — remain the only real “fix” if you’ve entered into “Red” territory.
But you can’t license what you can’t even see you’re infringing. CopySight makes the invisible visible. That’s no small thing.
So who should be racing to use this clever little AI “spell check” tool?
Virtually every professional who uses generative AI tools as a core part of what they do. That means AI studios, creative agencies and marketing teams, for sure. Brands ship AI-generated content every single day, and almost nobody checks whether it’s legally safe before it goes live. And one undetected conflict could mean meaningful legal exposure. Sophisticated AI generating professionals understand the need to minimize the risks for themselves and their clients.
Here’s the bigger idea the smart money sees. In an era of 125 ongoing copyright infringement cases (and growing), IP validity and insurability are becoming a gate.
IP and NIL clearance is becoming the moat. De-risking legal liability is increasingly essential to all players.
That’s why it’s not surprising that CopySight was selected to be part of Warner Bros. Discovery accelerator program — and is worth checking out.
What do you think? Send your feedback to peter@creativemedia.biz.
My firm, Creative Media, is at the forefront of AI’s transformation of the worlds of media and entertainment. We represent innovators who leverage the power of AI. We know the issues. In fact, we’re ahead of them. We define real world, practical solutions — and do it far more responsively and cost-effectively than others. We specialize in entrepreneurial legal services and high impact business strategy and consulting. We can be your fractional business team or General Counsel.
Reach out to me at peter@creativemedia.biz to learn more.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.