What the AI laws actually mean for your entertainment career right now

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concern for the entertainment industry. It is a present reality that is reshaping how content gets made, how rights get assigned, and how creators get compensated. The legal frameworks governing all of this are still catching up, which means the decisions you make right now about your work in an AI-enabled world will have consequences that extend far beyond any single project or deal.

California has already moved. AB 2602, which took effect in January 2025, addresses AI-generated digital replicas of performers in entertainment contracts. The federal NO FAKES Act continues to advance through Congress. And the Copyright Office has issued guidance on AI-generated works that is actively shaping how ownership questions get resolved.

None of this is settled law. But enough of the framework is in place that every filmmaker, creator, talent, and production company operating today needs to understand where things stand and what it means for their contracts, their rights, and their career.

1. California AB 2602 is in effect and most people do not know what it requires

AB 2602 requires that entertainment contracts involving a performer's digital replica include specific consent language. The performer must expressly consent to the creation and use of their AI-generated likeness, and that consent must be described in the contract with particularity. A blanket clause buried in a standard deal is not sufficient under the law.

What this means practically is that any production contract, talent agreement, or platform deal that involves any AI replication of a performer's voice, face, or likeness needs to be reviewed against the requirements of AB 2602. For talent, this means understanding exactly what you are being asked to consent to and for how long. For producers, this means making sure your agreements actually comply with the law as written.

The implementation gap is real. Many contracts currently circulating in the industry were drafted before AB 2602 took effect and have not been updated to reflect its requirements. That creates legal exposure on both sides of the deal, and it is not a gap that resolves itself without attention.

2. The NO FAKES Act and what federal legislation would change

The NO FAKES Act is federal legislation that would create a property right in a person's voice and likeness, enforceable against AI-generated replicas created without consent. It would apply to platforms that host non-consensual AI-generated content as well as to the individuals or companies who create it.

Unlike AB 2602, which applies specifically to entertainment industry contracts, the NO FAKES Act would cover a much broader range of situations including social media content, advertising, and user-generated platforms. It would also establish a notice-and-takedown framework similar to existing copyright law, giving rights holders a mechanism to demand removal of non-consensual replicas.

The bill has not yet passed, but its progression through Congress signals the direction federal law is moving. Creators and entertainment businesses that are building their legal infrastructure now should be aware of what is coming and how it will affect their existing agreements when it arrives.

3. Copyright and AI-generated work: what the Copyright Office has said

The U.S. Copyright Office has taken a consistent position on AI-generated content: copyright protection requires human authorship, and works generated solely by AI without meaningful human creative input are not eligible for copyright registration.

The practical implications of this are significant. If you are using AI tools in your creative process, the extent to which your work is protectable depends on how much human creative judgment shaped the final output. Selecting, arranging, and meaningfully modifying AI-generated material can support a copyright claim. Prompting an AI and publishing whatever it produces likely cannot.

For entertainment businesses, this creates questions about the value and ownership of AI-assisted content in your catalog. For creators, it raises the question of how to structure your creative process with AI tools in a way that preserves your intellectual property rights. These are not hypothetical questions. They are questions with direct implications for the deals you are signing today.

4. What your contracts need to say right now

The most actionable thing any creator, performer, or production company can do in the current environment is ensure that their contracts reflect the current legal landscape around AI.

For talent and creators, it means reviewing any agreement that touches on your likeness, voice, or creative output for language that grants the other party rights to use AI in connection with your work. Overly broad licensing language drafted before the current regulatory environment may grant rights that the law now provides mechanisms to limit or challenge.

For producers and production companies, it means drafting AI provisions with specificity rather than relying on general rights language. What AI uses are permitted? For what duration? On what platforms? Who owns the AI-generated output? These questions need answers in the contract, not assumptions.

For everyone, it means paying attention to platform terms of service. Streaming platforms, social media companies, and content distribution networks have all updated their terms in recent years to address AI training and content generation. Agreeing to those terms has legal consequences that most users never read carefully enough to understand.

5. The window for getting ahead of this is now

The entertainment industry is moving through an AI transition that is genuinely unprecedented in its speed and scope. The legal frameworks governing it are being built in real time, and the contracts being signed today will be interpreted against a regulatory backdrop that looks meaningfully different than it did two years ago.

The creators and companies that are positioning themselves well are not waiting for the law to fully settle before they act. They are building contractual protections now, reviewing their existing agreements against the current regulatory environment, and working with counsel that understands both the industry and the law as it is developing.

At ELLA, AI and entertainment law is a core part of what we do. We work with talent, creators, and production companies to build legal infrastructure that is designed for the industry as it actually exists today. Schedule a free consultation or call us at (310) 975-3138.