AI Video Creation: The Legal Risk Most Creators Miss
Most conversations about AI focus on what the technology can do. Far fewer address what the law will not allow—even when the technology makes it easy. This is public legal education. Not legal advice. But it reflects settled principles that creators, agencies, and institutions need to understand now. The Core Legal Risk: Right of Publicity Creating AI-generated videos that depict real people’s likenesses—actors, athletes, public figures, or private individuals—without permission creates immediate legal exposure. In more than 30 U.S. states, the Right of Publicity protects against the unauthorized commercial use of a person’s name, image, voice, or likeness. Key points many people miss: - Saying “this is AI” does not eliminate liability - Disclosure is not a defense when content is commercially exploited - Stylized, fictional, or “creative” depictions can still violate the law AI capability does not create a legal exception. Liability Rarely Stops at One Claim Unauthorized AI depictions often trigger stacked legal exposure, including: - False endorsement under federal trademark law - Defamation, where content implies false conduct or beliefs - Emotional distress, particularly when viewers are misled These claims compound. They do not cancel one another out. Without Permission: High Exposure When AI content uses real people or recognizable characters without authorization, risk expands across multiple legal regimes: Copyright Training on or outputting recognizable copyrighted images, performances, or scenes—especially for commercial use—rarely qualifies as fair use. Trademark Depicting branded characters or universes can imply endorsement, triggering infringement or dilution claims. State Right of Publicity Laws Jurisdictions such as California, New York, and Tennessee allow statutory damages, injunctions, profit disgorgement, and post-mortem rights that extend decades after death. Emerging Federal Law Proposed legislation would create nationwide civil liability for unauthorized digital replicas.