The ScreenSkills AI briefing with Kelsey Farish: Part 5

By now we all know that AI is changing the film and television industry - but keeping up with the trends, risks, and legislation and can feel overwhelming. That's why ScreenSkills has introduced a series of regular AI Briefings, designed to help screen professionals stay on top of what AI means for their work.

The ScreenSkills AI Briefing series is delivered by Kelsey Farish, a lawyer who has been advising on AI in the media and entertainment industry since 2019, and whose work includes advising the European Parliament on deepfake regulations, negotiating chatbot voice cloning agreements, and advising on the use of digital replicas in television programmes. Whether you’re keen to embrace AI tools, cautious about using them, or somewhere in between, the AI Briefings are designed to keep you informed of AI from legal, commercial, and reputational perspectives. 

Each AI Briefing in the series looks at different pressure points. In this fifth edition of the series, Kelsey will focus on copyright and AI, using lawsuits like Disney v. Midjourney, The New York Times v. OpenAI, and Getty Images v Stability AI to illustrate the key legal complexities.

Who it's for

Anyone working in the screen industries in the UK, who’s interested in the impact of AI. Here are some examples of whom it may benefit most.

• Producers and production managers looking to streamline workflows and navigate compliance.
• Editors and post-production teams interested in AI tools for editing, tagging, and automation.
• Casting teams and researchers exploring AI-driven talent discovery and audience analysis.
• Legal and business affairs professionals addressing intellectual property, transparency, and rights management.
• Development teams considering how AI can influence audience engagement and storytelling.

Trainer:

Kelsey Farish is a lawyer recognised as one of Europe’s leading authorities on AI in the entertainment industry. Having advised large media and technology companies for the better part of a decade, she now focuses on supporting creatives, performers and innovators. She is known for bringing clarity to high-stakes legal work involving AI, intellectual property, digital content, and the grey zones in between - whether that means pushing back against unauthorised digital replicas, ensuring AI is integrated into workflows responsibly, or just providing a sense of structure and calm.

Kelsey has been advising on generative AI since 2019. She has supported the European Parliament, the European Audiovisual Observatory, international streaming platforms, broadcasters, production companies, and talent. Known for her engaging and accessible training style, she regularly appears on national news programmes to discuss AI’s impact on creative industries. Her work is driven by a desire to empower creatives, so they can make informed decisions that make sense for them.

What it covers

The special focus areas for AI Briefing 5:

• Protection: Are videos, photos, text, and other outputs created by AI capable of copyright protection? If not, do they fall into the public domain? What about works that are modified (rather than created) by AI? 
  
• Infringement - outputs: If an AI tool generates output that looks like another copyrighted work but isn't an exact copy, does that count as an infringement? Can you copyright protect a particular style or aesthetic? 
• Infringement - training data: Does an AI company need permission to train algorithms using works found online? Is that fair use (fair dealing) or an infringement? How does it differ from a human looking at a photo on Instagram for example, and then being "inspired" to create something similar?

The AI Briefings also always feature: 

• Reactions and Industry Voices: A look at what's being said about AI by high-profile individuals, broadcasters, cultural institutions, unions and other big names.
• Real world examples: Two or three recent examples that Kelsey has advised on in relation to AI.
• Interactive Q&A: An open Q&A for you to raise questions and scenarios most relevant to you.

Please note this is not an introduction to AI nor a walkthrough of specific tools; the focus is on decision-making, responsibility, and good practice in real working environments. 

How to apply

This session will take place online via Zoom. Click ‘get ticket’ at the top of the page and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you are no longer able to attend, we ask you to please use the “decline ticket” function on the right hand side of the page so that we can release your place. Our sessions are often oversubscribed, so we’d like to give other freelancers the opportunity to fill available spots. Thank you for your consideration.

We are committed to ensuring all our courses are accessible to everyone. This course is designed to be as interactive as possible. Please email usf@screenskills.com if you have any access requirements and we will be delighted to help.

This session is supported by all the ScreenSkills Skills Funds, which invest in training for the workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies.

This course would normally cost participants to attend, but thanks to this support, we are able to offer it to you for free. If you fail to attend, we reserve the right to request reimbursement of costs, unless your place can be taken by someone else.