Producers may be unaware of their work being used by AI developers, legitimately or not. Leaving arguably illegal scraping aside, their sales agent or distributor may use all-purpose clauses in contracts to license their work. This isn't neutral or contained use—it can be open-ended, for any purpose, anytime. Where complicated new tools emerge overnight, documentary makers might not understand this—nor might their sales agents.

This Talk will explore how aware documentary rights holders are of the power of their own "archive" for AI companies: should they refuse to feed the beast, or work with an emerging company trying to compensate them fairly? Is this an exciting new revenue stream, or another way documentary filmmakers get exploited?

A producer, sales agent, media ethics consultant, and archive expert discuss the options, as well as whether producers have the consents and rights from contributors to license their films/content onwards for AI use, and the moral ramifications. 

Moderator: Charlie Phillips (Program Director, Documentary Association of Europe) 

Speakers: Wendy Bernfeld (CEO, Rights Stuff), Elizabeth Klinck (Archive Producer, E Klinck Research), Esther Van Messel (CEO, First Hand Films)