Privacy, Publicity, and Copyright in the Age of AI

Session description:

Presenter Christopher Heath, manager of content and coverage for News 6 and professor of media law at the University of Central Florida, explores how privacy, intellectual property, and copyright laws intersect with AI - an essential topic for modern PR practitioners navigating content creation, branding, and ethics.

Christopher will outline privacy law, which protects individuals from unauthorized commercial use of their name, image, or likeness. He will include real-life case studies and discuss the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and landmark rulings such as the “Monkey Selfie” case, showing how courts define authorship of creative works.

Presenter Bio:

Christopher Heath is the manager of content and coverage for News 6, where he oversees the investigative and consumer unit in addition to the station's political and election coverage, helping to drive news across multiple digital platforms. Christopher also hosts News 6 Extra every weekday at 12:30, providing a recap of the news and weather of the day on the News 6 stream.

In addition to his work at News 6, Christopher is also a professor of media law at the University of Central Florida where he taught since 2023.

In his career, Christopher has interviewed three presidents, covered hurricanes from New Orleans to Daytona Beach, and spent two months in Iraq in 2006 with the 4th Infantry Division. He also did a story on a haunted couch.

Christopher is married with two sons and two dogs.

The Takeaway:

As AI blurs the lines of creativity, publicity rights, and ownership, communicators must balance innovation with legal and ethical integrity.