The IP lawyer also discusses the impact of AI on the arts from the POV of an artist
Earlier this week, Thomas Huthwaite talked to NZ Lawyer about being a leader at AJ Park. In the second half of this June interview, the IP expert, who is also quite involved in the arts, shares his thoughts on how the advent of AI has affected the creation of art, music and literature.
The world of IP law has evolved significantly over recent years – what in your opinion has been the thing that changed the game the most in this space?
At a broad level, the digital creation and sharing of information has had a massive and ongoing impact. Of course, this dates back many years: Napster was released (and sued) in 1999, social media became popular in the mid-2000s, New Zealand’s infringing file-sharing ‘three strikes’ legislation took effect in 2011, the MegaUpload saga began in 2012, and blockchain technology was popularised in around 2016.
The evolving digital world continues to impact how IP is created, communicated, copied, modified, and infringed. It spawned remix and meme culture, file-sharing and streaming, social media, blockchain and NFTs, online takedown mechanisms, and now advances in AI.
As a result, a significant portion of what we do is online: investigations, enforcement, communication, and even conducting hearings. Keeping up with technology, digital platforms and online trends is more important than ever.
Following on from your previous question, we’re currently combatting ‘Dupe’ and ‘Rep’ culture online. Dupes (duplicates) and Reps (replicas) have become trending topics on social media, with billions of views on TikTok alone.
While there initially seemed to be nothing particularly sinister about the dupe trend, popularised by Gen Z bargain hunters, it has inadvertently ushered in a new form of counterfeit and lookalike culture, taken viral by social medial influencers. Combating this trend is proving particularly difficult due to its breadth and prevalence.
My art and photography have always been a means of escape and expression. Nothing will replace that physical or manual process for me.
However, in IP, we’re starting to see the impact of AI on how art, literature and music are created. For some, it is giving rise to great opportunities: fast production, lower cost, low barrier to entry, relatively little skill required. But it’s also raising significant legal and moral questions: who is the author, can we trust what we see, is there copyright in the work, if so who does it belong to, what is the source material, has copyright been infringed, and so on.
I see AI as the latest form of digital disruption, and one that almost every industry will need to grapple with in the years to come.
