PRESENTATION: THE DEATH AND REBIRTH OF CRE-AI-TIVE OWNERSHIP

Copyright is in crisis. If AI can mine creativity, then those with the most computational power could end up owning the most IP. Courts worldwide are denying ownership of AI-generated works—yet there is no way to know what has, or hasn’t, been created with AI. At the same time, new forms of infinite and interactive creativity are emerging, confounding traditional ownership. Yet, just as copyright frameworks collapse, artists are demanding stricter protections. But would that actually save them—or are they fighting someone else’s battle? Musician and copyright expert Zachary Cooper traces the controversial history of creative ownership and control, exposes the extreme dysfunction of the present, and argues that artists must seize this moment to develop new systems, not latch onto those that were always broken.