Protecting your content in the age of AI

10 tips for local publishers

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With artificial intelligence reshaping how news is created and distributed, protecting original content has never been more important for local publishers. AI tools are generating articles and summaries based on journalism they didn’t create, often without credit or compensation. Without clear policies and legal safeguards, news organizations risk losing control over their work and its value.

To stay protected, publishers should establish clear copyright agreements with their reporters, develop a copyright registration strategy and enforce their rights against infringement. Lauren Leipold, partner at Seyfarth Shaw and a member of the America's Newspapers Legislative Committee, has compiled 10 tips to help newspaper publishers safeguard their content. Her recommendations include setting guidelines for the use of generative AI in newsrooms, updating website terms to discourage data scraping, using digital monitoring tools to track misuse, and educating both staff and readers on copyright protections.

Most importantly, publishers must advocate for stronger copyright protections as AI and digital platforms challenge existing laws. America’s Newspapers is actively tracking legislation and working to ensure publishers have the legal tools they need to protect their content. Taking proactive steps now will help local news organizations maintain control, safeguard revenue and reinforce the value of independent journalism. 

10 tips for local publishers:

Provided by Lauren Leipold, partner, Seyfarth Shaw

1 - Define your preferred copyright ownership structure and update author agreements accordingly.

Copyright automatically vests in the original author of a work. This means that your reporters and columnists own exclusive rights over the content they create by default if you do not execute an author agreement assigning rights to you as the publisher.

You might require assignment of all copyright to you, or you might consider implementing a shared ownership model that allows authors to retain certain rights and provides you with a license to reproduce the materials online and/or in print. Either way, your author agreements should explicitly set out how you are allowed to use the material, and how the authors are allowed to use the material outside of the agreement (if at all). Failure to specify respective rights will result in loss of control over content, which in turn facilitates third-party infringement.

2 - Develop and implement a comprehensive copyright registration strategy.

While copyright automatically exists as soon as content is expressed in a tangible form, a rights holder cannot file an infringement lawsuit in federal court without first obtaining a federal registration through the U.S. Copyright Office. (Ideally, you as publisher will be a rights holder in some capacity based on the ownership structure you have developed and implemented.) It is often not practical or economically feasible to seek registration of every single article in every single publication, but the Copyright Office provides certain procedures to make it easier for serial publications to register. There are also outside vendors who can assist in capturing and registering online content.

Importantly, it is permissible to wait until you detect infringement to seek registration of particular content and then file suit as to that specific content. This may be a more realistic registration strategy. But you should weigh your options carefully, because registration after the infringement occurs cuts off the ability to obtain statutory damages under the Copyright Act. Legal experts can help you decide which strategy is best for your publication.

3 - Develop and implement a comprehensive copyright enforcement strategy.

Once you have shored up your rights, it is important to protect those rights by enforcing against known infringers. You should develop a clear policy on how your publication will respond to any known copyright infringement, including pursuing legal action against blatant violators as necessary. It will be important to consult with a legal expert regarding your particular needs and how to most efficiently deploy your resources to protect your valuable content. In some cases, you may face arguments from infringers who claim their misappropriation of your content constitutes “fair use.” We are seeing this in ongoing litigation in courts across the country. It is important to arm yourself with a better understanding of what may constitute “fair use” in order to avoid unnecessary legal disputes and respond appropriately to those types of arguments from infringers.

4 - Develop and implement a comprehensive policy on use of GenAI.

Your reporters may already be using GenAI platforms to help generate ideas, or to rewrite or edit content. You should get out ahead of any issues by clearly delineating what is allowed and what is not. Allowing free reign could result in loss of ownership over content, or potential data breach issues. Under existing copyright law, content created by GenAI is not protectable, and no one can claim ownership over that content. In other words, an infringer could misappropriate AI-generated content without any consequence. Equally troubling is the potential for a GenAI platform to interpret inputs by reporters as a license to repurpose that content. Publishers should place clear boundaries on the extent to which GenAI may be used. For example, it may be appropriate to use a grammar checker that will not materially alter the underlying substantive content, and/or photo editing software that makes de minimis changes to the original image. But inputting proprietary data and asking the GenAI platform to generate a first draft of an article is probably not ideal. This could result in potential infringement of third-party materials used to train the AI platform, or even the AI platform hallucinating and creating false or misleading content that could be attributed to you as the publisher, undermining your reputation as a responsible news outlet.

5 - Educate your authors.

Once you have developed your internal policies, you should make sure that authors are aware of the changes and understand why you made those changes. They will likely be on board with helping to protect against infringement once they understand the issues your new policies are meant to address.

6 - Educate your readers.

A large portion of consumers of online content are unaware of the consequences associated with copying and pasting materials they see online. They are also unaware of the repercussions of getting their news from Google’s AI assistant rather than the underlying news sites. It may be worth adding some information on your website to help educate them or perhaps publishing an editorial on the topic.

7 - Update your website terms of service.

Also worth updating on your website are terms of service. GenAI platforms are trained on data that is obtained by scraping the internet. While it can be difficult to actually block them from obtaining the data, placing an explicit warning prohibiting data scraping may be helpful in seeking redress after the fact.

8 - Subscribe to a digital monitoring service.

Several vendors provide digital monitoring services that can use AI to your advantage to identify content that appears to have been misappropriated from your own site. Because the burden is on the copyright owner to identify and pursue infringers, this can be helpful in your enforcement efforts. These vendors typically monitor social media platforms, online marketplaces, and file-sharing websites where infringing material may appear.

9 - Consider using digital watermarking technology.

Digital watermarking technology exists to help trace digital files and to track whether they have been manipulated. Certain vendors offer software that you can use to attach content provenance information to material you publish on your website. This will assist in creating an evidentiary trail in the event you pursue an infringer.

10 - Advocate for change.

America’s Newspapers is carefully tracking proposed legislation and ongoing litigation addressing issues related to AI and copyright and is lobbying for change to support its members. Staying educated and spreading the word on new initiatives can help create the support needed to enact change.

Produced exclusively as a resource for America’s Newspapers members. For questions, contact Dean Ridings, CEO of America’s Newspapers, at dridings@newspapers.com.