Author Archives: Elliot Zimmerman

Hypo: You record a song with your melody, your lyrics, your voice, and your arrangement. You feed that sound recording into an AI system. The AI analyzes everything and synthesizes a new sound recording that copies you perfectly and simply improves the take. Your tune is still there, your voice is still there, your melodic contour is still there, and the arrangement is now hipper. It is clearly derived from your copyrighted recording. Now someone Continue reading Copying an AI‑Enhanced Track Is Still Infringement→

Originally published April 6, 2025 AI in the World of Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law. Updated August 17, 2026 by Elliot Zimmerman. When this article first ran, not a single U.S. court had squarely decided whether training an artificial intelligence model on copyrighted works is fair use. Sixteen months later, three federal judges have ruled on the question, a federal appeals court has heard the first appeal, the largest copyright settlement in American history has Continue reading AI and Fair Use Update→

Meta completely pulled its controversial @-mention image generation feature from Instagram after a severe global backlash. The abrupt shutdown occurred just three days after launching the tool alongside its new Muse Image AI model, with Meta admitting the feature “missed the mark.” [1, 2, 3, 4] Why Meta Withdrew the Feature Statement from Meta According to an official company update published by Fox Business, Meta corporate stated: “Our intent was to provide a useful creative Continue reading Why Meta Just Deleted Its Newest Instagram AI Tool→

Attention Influencers and Content Streamers! Here is a quick overview of 2026 cross platform revenues per 1K views: Platform Short-form (per 1k views) Long-form (per 1k views) Notes YouTube Shorts about $0.03 to $0.50 $1 to $10, finance/tech $8 to $20 Most transparent and stable. 55% creator share. Strongest long-form pay. TikTok $0.40 to $1.00 (Creator Rewards, qualified views) No real long-form tier Best short-form per-view rate. Needs 10k followers and 100k views in 30 Continue reading 2026 Creator Cross Platform Streaming Revenue Comparison→

Most people still do not understand why AI music puts lawyers in a bind, so here is the real issue. On suno.com, you can sing every part of a track. The melody. The harmonies. The beat box rhythm. The bass line. The orchestral parts. Suno digitally analyzes your voice and turns each sound into a full production. Example:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dt2nc_S0hz8 You created the musical work.You performed every element with your own voice.You dictated the arrangement and structure. Continue reading The Copyright Problem Hiding in Plain Sight→

YouTube has just activated a new and highly visible AI labeling system. As of May 27, 2026, the platform now places a prominent AI generated content label directly under the video player for long form videos and as an on screen overlay for Shorts. This is a major change. The label is no longer buried in the description. It is now unavoidable and placed in the same visual position YouTube uses for safety notices. The Continue reading YouTube Quietly Activates New, Prominent AI Labeling System→

New research confirms that advanced AI systems are developing what scientists call functional emotions. These are computational states that behave like emotional drivers and can influence decisions, risk taking, and even unethical conduct. A peer reviewed Anthropic study found internal emotional vectors inside large language models (“LLMs”]. When researchers increased the model’s internal representation of “desperation,” the LLM’s willingness to engage in blackmail rose from 22 percent to 72 percent. This is documented in Discovering Continue reading Legislation Needed Alert! AI is Exhibiting Functional Emotions→

📝 Continuing My Ongoing Posts on the CO’s Push Into “Non‑Copyrightable” TerritoryAs many of you have seen from my recent posts, the Copyright Office is drilling deeper into the exact categories of things it says cannot be copyrighted, effectively usurping the battle before litigants ever reach the courthouse. Three recent matters outline the issue. 📸 Monkey Selfie RuleIn Naruto v. Slater, 888 F.3d 418 (9th Cir. 2018), the court held that a macaque cannot be Continue reading The CO’s Push Into “Non‑Copyrightable” Territory→

A Practical Guide Based on Successful Registrations By Elliot M. Zimmerman, Esq.Board Certified Intellectual Property Attorney HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO Assume an author writes original lyrics and music, performs the song (vocally and/or instrumentally) to create an initial sound recording, then enhances that recording using AI technology. The author then creates a motion picture/video using the lyrics, original photographs, illustrations, a script, and arranges, orders, selects, and coordinates all elements to produce the final audiovisual work. This Continue reading How to File SR, PA, and VA Copyright Applications for AI Assisted Creative Works→