Architect, not gatekeeper: Lessons from SXSW on AI, IP, and the evolving role of legal counsel

At SXSW, I attended a panel on "AI in Entertainment: Navigating IP, Ethics & Opportunity" featuring my colleagues Nick Breen and Gerard Donovan alongside Alex Haskell of ElevenLabs and Romy Horn of Real Chemistry. The session reinforced the belief that the lawyers who thrive in the AI era won't be the ones who say "no" the fastest. They'll be the ones who learn to say "yes, and here's how."

The panel quickly dismantled two persistent misconceptions I hear too often:

1. AI creations can’t be protected. Not true. The technology doesn’t exist in some kind of IP vacuum (imagine a world without IP laws!). While the law is evolving, there are practical, effective ways to allocate risk while preserving the benefits of AI-assisted creation.

2. AI demands an entirely new contracting universe (as if the technology has rendered existing legal frameworks obsolete). Also not true, and the panelists effectively pushed back on this notion. Yes, AI presents unique risks, but those risks are often overstated and can be addressed through careful, thoughtful contracting using tools attorneys already have at their disposal.

A major theme that resonated with me was the panel’s push for proactive rather than purely defensive strategies. Indemnities matter, but they're most effective when paired with education about how to use AI systems responsibly. Equally important is the opportunity to affirmatively protect rights through copyright registration or patent applications where appropriate. 

The panel also touched on the complexities of collective licensing as a potential path forward. In the music industry, a single song can have anywhere from two to twenty-five rights holders, making clearance a labyrinthine process. And throughout the week, one open question kept surfacing: can the industry truly align around scalable collective frameworks?

For me, the most important message had nothing to do with contract provisions or licensing structures. It was about the role lawyers should play in their clients' AI strategies. 

Be an architect, not a gatekeeper.

Anyone can flag risks. The lawyers who add the most value are those that understand the business objectives, engage with the technology, ask probing questions, and help design solutions that manage risk while enabling innovation. Keep learning. Keep asking questions. Stay close to the business. And resist the temptation to retreat behind a wall of "no."