IP Protection for Authors, Part 1 04-09-2026

·54 min·5 clips

Dr. Judith Briles discovered her books were part of a massive AI copyright settlement and had to file claims.

Dr. Judith Briles opens the episode with a quote about author success and introduces the topic of intellectual property protection. She shares her personal experience with the Anthropic AI copyright settlement, revealing she was one of the affected authors and detailing the claim-filing process. Guest Colin O'Brien, an IP attorney with over two decades of experience, joins to discuss protecting creators' assets. He explains how authors can trademark a series of books, using the example of a Hawaii doctor who built a business from her self-help book through workbooks, seminars, and certifications. Dr. Briles recounts a personal story where columnist Art Buchwald used her ideas from a dinner conversation without permission, which motivated her to start writing. O'Brien emphasizes the importance of copyright notices on handouts and slides during presentations. He discusses the need for non-disclosure agreements when sharing ideas and the value of having contracts reviewed by attorneys. The conversation covers work-for-hire agreements for photographers and designers to ensure authors own the rights. O'Brien shares his career path, inspired by representing Elvis Presley's estate, highlighting how IP can generate wealth for families. He uses the 'Ferrari' analogy to explain branding versus product. The episode delves into AI challenges, including right of publicity laws and the constitutional basis for copyright protection. O'Brien predicts major legal decisions on AI copyright infringement by 2027. They briefly mention Amazon's brand protection programs and the importance of disabling AI training settings for authors. The episode concludes with plans for a follow-up discussion.

As heard by us

A rights dispute turns copyright from abstract protection into a hard publishing-business problem.

Copyright looks less like paperwork and more like business exposure when an author no longer knows who controls a book, where it is being sold, or whether royalties are reaching the right person.

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Why you'd press play

You want the uneasy moment when a book you thought was yours to control shows up elsewhere, translated and still being sold.

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