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Quick clarification on a recurring client question:“If I have a mechanical license (or DistroKid’s SR cover license), can I make a video and post it to YouTube without a sync license?” Short answer:Mechanical = audio‑only (17 USC §115).Sync = derivative work (17 USC §106(2)).Two different rights. Mechanical licenses never include sync. Important nuance:A mechanical license is still required for the audio use of the underlying composition on any platform that distributes the audio recording (Spotify, Continue reading Mechanical vs. Sync, YouTube’s Platform Licenses, and Cross‑Platform Comparison→

The Copyright Office’s refusal to register Théâtre D’Opéra Spatial should concern every creator. The Review Board held that because Midjourney contributed more than a de minimis amount of expression, the AI‑generated portions had to be disclaimed. When the artist refused, the Office rejected the entire claim. The shame is obvious: this was an award‑winning artwork, celebrated at the Colorado State Fair, yet treated as uncopyrightable because the human and AI contributions were “inextricably intertwined.” But Continue reading Why I’m Fighting the AI‑Copyright Battle→

Matthew McConaughey has now joined the growing club of performers racing to protect every atom of their identity before AI does it for them. Sensible move. Some of us filed those registrations before it was fashionable.  And if anyone needs a reminder of why this matters, revisit The Congress (2013), where Hollywood convinces actors to sign away their likeness, voice, and persona so studios can generate infinite AI‑driven performances without them. Paul Giamatti plays the Continue reading Prevent AI ID Theft: Trademark Your Persona→

While there isn’t a single “MIDI case” that stands out the way White-Smith v. Apollo did for piano rolls, the U.S. copyright doctrine has evolved through software and digital music cases to treat MIDI files as protectable embodiments of musical works. Courts and commentators consistently apply 17 U.S.C. §102 (original works fixed in a tangible medium) to MIDI, and case law around software object code and digital sampling provides the backbone for this analysis. ⚖️ Continue reading Copyright Protection of MIDI Files→

UK Landmark Decision: No Infringement Without Embodiment In a groundbreaking ruling, the UK High Court delivered its first major judgment on generative AI and copyright in Getty Images (US) Inc & ors v Stability AI Limited ([2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch)) [6]. The court held that Stability AI did not infringe Getty Images’ copyright through its training of the Stable Diffusion model, because the resulting model weights, while derived from copyrighted images, do not contain or Continue reading AI Copyright Showdown: UK Ruling Contrasts with US Legal Battles→