February Newsbreak

NewsLegalconferenceCopyright
Written By Leslie@dmla

In this issue:

  • Upcoming Webinars

  • Member News

  • Copyright Corner

  • Upcoming Events

Webinars

DMLA’s Focus 2026 includes a an emphasis on education and networking opportunities.

Our first webinar, held in January - 2026 Trends: Content and Technology - was well received with:

  • 86% rating the webinar a 5 out of 5

  • 100% rating it a 4 or 5

  • 100% rating the speakers a 5

  • 100% rating the topic a 5

If you have suggestions for future speakers or topics, please send them to marketing@dmla.org.

JOIN OUR NEXT WEBINAR (VIA ZOOM)
FEBRUARY 26 AT 4:00PM ET:

Search has evolved far beyond “10 blue links.”

With AI Overviews, Google’s AI Mode, and platforms like ChatGPT and Claude reshaping how people discover information, search is now powered by large language models — and LLM-driven traffic is up 357% year over year.

Join members, Roxana Stingu - Alamy (moderator) and Tom Smith - Gado Images, along with Jared Bauman - 201 Creative to explore GEO and Search in 2026: Everything to Know. Learn how brands can show up inside AI-powered results, adapt to changing discovery behavior, and build a future-proof GEO strategy for the year ahead.

GET YOUR TICKET HERE

MEMBER NEWS

UK regulator finds competition concerns in Getty-Shutterstock merger

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog said on Thursday it provisionally found concerns over UK editorial content supply in the proposed merger between U.S.-based Getty Images (GETY.N), and rival Shutterstock (SSTK.N), but cleared the deal in the global stock content market.

Both companies said they disagreed with the Competition and Markets Authority's provisional finding on editorial content and plan to file responses by the March 12 deadline, while continuing to work with the U.S. Department of Justice on its ongoing review of the deal.

To read the full article, go HERE

Envato launches its creative trends 2026 series: the future of design, music, filmmaking and more

This year, the creative world was transformed by AI’s influence with no signs of slowing down. Envato has launched its Creative Trends 2026 series, which explores the bold ideas shaping what’s next: from unexpected colour comebacks and hybrid workflows to human-AI collaborations redefining creativity itself.

To read the full article, go HERE.

Bria AI has won the Hollywood Professional Association Award for Innovation in Pre-Production for their GenAi Attribution Technology

“The core feature of the presented technology is Bria’s patented GenAI Attribution Technology. This system traces the training data influencing each AI-generated output and automatically compensates contributors based on their real impact. This transforms generative AI from an ethical liability into a transparent, auditable, and economically sustainable foundation for creative industries.

The impact is multifaceted: it resolves the ethical and legal barriers preventing the media industry from embracing AI at scale, offers full indemnification for customers, and creates a sustainable creator economy where data partners receive transparent, usage-based payments. This approach ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency, positioning adopters ahead of compliance requirements and fostering a creative renaissance built on partnership and fair compensation.” - Hollywood Professional Association

Copyright Corner

Say “No” to Unlicensed AI Training
TAKE ACTION NOW

Our friends at the Copyright Alliance are making it easy to reach out to members of the US Congress. Your voice and the voice of the industry matters. Go here to submit your email: HERE

New York State of Mind: Recent Laws in the Empire State Reshape How Content Creators and Advertisers May Use AI

As New York moves to the forefront of consumer-facing AI regulation, two new laws are set to significantly impact creatives and advertisers. Beginning June 2026, SB8420 will require advertisers to clearly disclose when a “synthetic performer” appears in an ad, with civil penalties for noncompliance. Separately, SB8391 expands New York’s post-mortem right of publicity law, tightening restrictions on the use of digital replicas of deceased individuals and eliminating certain safe harbors for distributors. Together, these measures signal a stricter regulatory landscape for AI-generated content in advertising and entertainment.

To read the full article, go HERE

The Chinese AI app sending Hollywood into a panic

A new artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by the Chinese company behind TikTok rocked Hollywood this week - not just because of what it can do, but what it could mean for creative industries.

Created by tech giant ByteDance, Seedance 2.0 can generate cinema-quality video, complete with sound effects and dialogue, from just a few written prompts. Many of the clips said to have been made using Seedance, and featuring popular characters like Spider-Man and Deadpool, went viral.

Major studios like Disney and Paramount quickly accused ByteDance of copyright infringement but concerns about the technology run deeper than legal issues.

To read the full article, go HERE

Coming Industry Events

Please send us events you would like us to track!
Email marketing@dmla.org

Leslie@dmla https://dmla.org
Next

January Newsbreak