Generative AI and the Right of Publicity: Taking a Closer Look at Theories of Redress for Creators

Copyright law has been front and center of disputes between creators and Generative AI platforms. My latest piece makes the case that the Right of Publicity would provide a better legal theory of relief for aggrieved creators, particularly if the doctrine is adopted as a federal law that would apply nationwide. As the poor results to date in the dozens of pending copyright lawsuits demonstrate, copyright law is challenged in the face of how Generative AI platforms are trained, store data and produce outputs, and ill-suited to protect creators from general emulation of their personal styles and personas.