Since Sora 2’s release, one question keeps coming up: Who owns what when it comes to AI?
Can celebrities protect their copyrighted characters? Can studios license those characters to AI models? And most importantly, where do you fit into all of this?
The answer isn’t simple, and that’s exactly the problem. There’s a critical difference between copyright and name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights, and AI is blurring those lines in ways the legal system is still catching up to.
Iron Man As an Example
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Imagine an AI model generates Iron Man. The character itself – the suit, the arc reactor, the Marvel logo – that’s copyright. Marvel Studios owns it.
But let’s be honest, when someone generates Iron Man, they aren’t just expecting a red and gold suit. They are looking for Robert Downey Jr. in that suit. His face. His voice. His mannerisms. His performance.
That’s name, image, and likeness. And that belongs to Robert Downey Jr., not Marvel.
So when an AI model creates “Iron Man,” whose rights are being used? The studio’s copyright on the character design? The actor’s NIL rights to their performance and persona? Both?
This isn’t a hypothetical. This is what is happening right now.
Copyright vs. NIL: What’s the Difference?
Copyright protects creative works – scripts, character designs, music, artwork. If you write a screenplay or design a character, you (or the entity you work for) own the copyright to that creation.
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) protects your personal identity – your face, your voice, your recognizable persona. This is about you as a person, not the creative works you produce.
Here’s the key distinction: A studio can own the copyright to a character, but they don’t automatically own the performer’s face or voice. Those are two separate rights
And this is where it’s getting sticky when AI content is created.
The New Questions AI Is Forcing Us to Ask
Post-Sora 2, the entertainment industry is grappling with unprecedented questions:
- Can studios license copyrighted characters to AI models without the performer’s consent?
- If an AI model recreates a character using an actor’s likeness, who needs to approve it?
- What happens when AI generates content that combines studio-owned IP with performer-owned NIL?
- Who gets compensated when both copyright and NIL are involved?
The uncomfortable truth? Most existing contracts never anticipated this technology. Performers signed deals giving studios rights to their characters, but most did not explicitly sign away their faces to AI training models.
Why This Matters for Every Performer
You might not be playing Iron Man, but this affects you too.
Whether you’re an actor, musician, influencer, or creator, your work exists at the intersection of these rights. You create copyrightable content (videos, music, performances), but you also have NIL rights to your own identity.
Right now, AI doesn’t distinguish between the two. When your content gets scraped for training data, both your creative work and your personal identity are being used – often without any consent, but definitely without separate consent or compensation for each.
What Vermillio Is Doing About It
At Vermillio, we’re working hard to clarify these rights in the age of AI.
The legal landscape is complex and evolving, but one thing is clear: both copyright holders and performers deserve a say in how their rights are used by AI models.
We believe in clear opt-in and opt-out systems. Not buried in 50-page terms of service. Not assumed through silence. Explicit, informed consent.
Whether you own the copyright to your work, the rights to your likeness, or both – you should have control over if and how AI models use them. Studios should have clarity on what they can license. Performers should have protection for their identity. And everyone should have the right to say no.
The Path Forward
The conversation around AI and rights is just beginning, but we can’t wait for perfect legislation to start protecting creators.
That’s why Vermillio is building systems now to:
- Help performers understand which of their rights are being used
- Clarify the difference between copyright and NIL in AI contexts
- Ensure proper consent and compensation for both types of rights
- Provide protection when your rights are violated – whether that’s copyright infringement, NIL misuse, or both
Your character might be copyrighted. But your face? Your voice? Your identity?
That’s yours. And it should stay that way.
Vermillio – Protecting your rights in the age of AI.