Recently in the news the public was made aware that characters were under copyright for years and are now legal to use in the public domain, such as Sherlock Holmes, and had certain freedom of use rights attached to them, which of course brought up many questions about copyright in the public consciousness.
Also with recent strikes in Hollywood questions about the use of AI for written and digital works, were brought to the general public’s attention as part of the details of the strike.
“During the historic strike, AI emerged as a key point of contention between the writers and studios. Though text-based generative AI tools like ChatGPT are very creatively limited as they stand, writers worried that studios would still try to take advantage of these fast-developing tools to avoid paying union members.”
-Amanda Siberling, Tech Crunch
Attorney and writer Melanie Bragg presented a panel concerning these topics. As an author and attorney, she is more than qualified to address these topics.
These were some of the concepts brought up during a legal panel for authors at the Houston Writers Guild Conference, Authorpalooza. Below are several of the slides that covered copyright.
Melanie also covered how writers should deal with defamation, and using persons in their creations. Also how to use such cliche examples properly such as the terms Xerox and Coke. In the presentation below she touches on the AI issue as well as how they concern authors.
She also talked about how plagiarism, privacy, copyrights, and other factors can affect an author’s written work. Embedded in this article is a video from her panel, as well as her presentation in PowerPoint form. Although this article covers these issues and gives info from her panel, if you indeed have serious questions concerning these matters you should consult a professional attorney.
More info on the presenter from her Authorpalooza bio:
Melanie Bragg (melanie@melaniebragg.com; https://www.melaniebragg.com) is the owner of Bragg Law, a general civil firm in Houston, Texas, and Legal Insight, Inc., a legal education company. She is the author of three books: Crosstown Park, an Alex
Stockton legal thriller, published by Koehler Books; Defining Moments: Insights into the Lawyer’s Soul, an American Bar Association Flagship publication and HIPPA for the General Practitioner, also published by the American Bar Association. She is named a
Super Lawyer by Thompson Reuters since 2019 and was named one of Houston Chronicle’s Best Probate Lawyers this year.
