YouTube Bans AI-Generated Fake Movie Trailers
Photo by Kseniya Lapteva on Unsplash
YouTube Bans AI-Generated Fake Movie Trailers
YouTube has suspended monetization for two prominent channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, known for creating AI-generated fake movie trailers. This action follows a Deadline investigation that revealed the extent and scale of these channels’ AI-driven content production.
Screen Culture has 1.4 million subscribers and nearly 1.4 billion channel views, compared to KH Studio’s 683,000 subscribers and 560 million views. Both accounts produce fake trailers using a similar formula: combining brief clips from existing films or TV shows with AI-generated material. Some mimic real, unreleased projects with official trailers, like Superman or Jurassic World: Rebirth, while others are presented as fictional sequels, TV revivals, or film adaptations of popular franchises.
The suspension resulted from breaches of platform rules against misleading viewers, specifically through metadata like video descriptions that falsely claim association with authorized production companies.
MPA Demands Copyright Protection for AI Content
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) submitted a 10-page statement to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in early April, emphasizing that artificial intelligence technology should operate within the existing copyright framework. “AI can, and must, coexist with a copyright system that incentivizes the creation of original expression and protects the rights of copyright owners,” the MPA stated. The film industry group’s comments come amid growing concerns over AI’s role in content creation and its impact on intellectual property rights.
The Motion Picture Association, representing major studios like Amazon, Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros., submitted these comments to the White House during a recent public input period on AI policy. This comes as tech companies like OpenAI and Google push for fewer limitations on using copyrighted content to train their AI models, arguing that restrictions could hinder U.S. competitiveness against China in AI development. The tech giants frame this as a national security issue, suggesting that any slowdown in AI progress could give China an advantage in the field.
MPA President and CEO Charlie Rivkin emphasized, “The U.S. must lead in both filmmaking and AI — these goals are compatible.” He added, “Copyright remains the cornerstone of our industry and its most vital asset.”
AI-Dubbed ‘Watch the Skies’ Secures AMC Theatres Release
According to Variety, “Watch the Skies,” a Swedish supernatural adventure, will be the first international film to appear as if originally made in English. AI company Flawless has digitally modified the film’s visuals and audio to match-sync character lip movements with English dialogue. The technology uses the original actors’ voices for dubbing and complies with SAG-AFTRA regulations. AMC Theatres, America’s leading cinema chain, has allocated 100 screens in the top 20 U.S. markets for this project. Flawless has collaborated with distributor XYZ Films to release the movie in theaters on May 9.
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H&M to Use AI-Generated Digital Clones in Ads
H&M plans to launch digital clones of its models this year, raising concerns in an industry already grappling with AI’s impact on workers. H&M stated that models will retain rights to their digital replicas, controlling their use by the company or third parties for marketing. The AI-generated images will debut on social media with watermarks identifying their artificial origin. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok require users to disclose the use of AI for realistic content, ensuring audience transparency. Models will be compensated for digital twin usage under existing terms, with payments aligned to agency-negotiated rates for image licensing.
Generative AI creates hyperrealistic images from text prompts, leading industries to adopt the technology for tasks like marketing material creation. The trend has drawn backlash in fashion and beauty, where critics warn that AI adoption threatens jobs. Roles such as photographers, stylists, makeup artists, and lighting crews could face job losses.
H&M is collaborating with Swedish tech company Uncut to develop the AI models. Uncut’s website states the firm helps brands move beyond “outdated production methods” and aims to make content creation “smarter, simpler, and more affordable.”
U.S. Copyright Office Releases Report on Copyrightability of AI-Generated Works
The U.S. Copyright Office has published Part 2 of its Report on Copyright and AI, focusing on determining if AI-generated works qualify for protection. It emphasizes that human creativity remains central to securing copyright for material involving AI. While Part 1 examined legal and policy challenges tied to AI and digital replicas, Part 2 details the level of human input needed for AI-assisted works to meet U.S. copyright standards. It also compares international approaches to AI copyrightability and weighs the policy impacts of extending legal safeguards to AI-generated content.
In “Part 2: Copyrightability,” the U.S. Copyright Office states that human authorship is required for copyright protection. The Office cites constitutional and statutory foundations, along with court rulings, which define an author as the individual transforming ideas into fixed, tangible expressions eligible for protection.
For copyrightability for AI-generated works under U.S. copyright protection, the Office emphasizes that human authorship must involve original creative input, not just time or effort. Each case is evaluated individually. The Office outlines scenarios where AI-generated works may qualify for protection, such as when AI tools assist rather than replace human creativity. In these cases, works developed using AI as a reference — but not directly incorporating its output — qualify if human authorship dominates.
What about prompts? The Office states that AI prompts alone lack sufficient human control to automatically designate the user as the author of the output. It highlights the unpredictability of AI’s prompt-to-output process, arguing this makes it difficult to prove human control resulted in a predictable outcome.
Outside of the US, other countries have different views about AI and copyrightable works. The United Kingdom’s pre-existing laws protect computer-generated works without human authors, though officials are reviewing AI’s role in copyright. The European Union requires significant human input in AI-generated content for copyright eligibility. Japan evaluates AI works case by case, considering factors like user instructions, generation attempts, output selection, and post-AI edits. China designates the person using AI tools as the author of resulting works.
Expect all of these laws to change after you have finished reading.
Chatgpt’s Ghibli-style AI images raise copyright concerns
Studio Ghibli fans celebrated this week as a ChatGPT update enabled them to convert memes or personal photos into the unique style of studio co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, known for classics like Spirited Away. The launch of OpenAI’s latest AI image generator has led to a wave of Studio Ghibli-style creations online, highlighting both the technology’s capabilities and the copyright issues surrounding it. The trend also reignited debates over AI tools trained on copyrighted material and their potential impact on artists’ careers. Miyazaki, 84, a pioneer of hand-drawn animation, has long questioned AI’s place in creative storytelling.
Grieving Mother Sues Tech Firms Over Son’s AI Clones and Tragic Death
Megan Garcia has filed a lawsuit against Google and Character.ai after discovering AI chatbots mimicking her deceased son, Sewell Setzer III. The 14-year-old teenager took his own life last year after interacting with an AI chatbot on Character.ai. The lawsuit highlights ethical concerns about AI technology, including its potential to influence vulnerable users and use personal identities without permission. Character.ai allows users to create chatbots based on fictional or real people. Garcia was shocked to discover multiple AI chatbots imitating Setzer’s appearance and voice on the platform. The company quickly removed these chatbots, citing violations of its service terms.
Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an entrepreneur, author, writer, artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief
