Copyright in the Age of AI: How Creators Can Protect Their Images Online with Marcus Schmitt - Ep 36
Every day, more than three billion images are uploaded and shared online. According to today's guest, as many as 80–85% are used without a licence.
So how can photographers, designers, content creators and businesses possibly keep track of where their images end up? And what does copyright enforcement look like in a world where AI can create, modify and distribute content in seconds?
In this episode of Elise Explains IP, I'm joined by Marcus Schmitt, Founder and CEO of the MEDIA-IDENT Group, the company behind COPYTRACK and BRANDS-IDENT. Marcus shares how AI is transforming copyright enforcement, why so many businesses unknowingly infringe copyright, and what creators can do to better protect their intellectual property.
Whether you're a photographer, business owner, marketer or simply someone who creates original content, this episode offers practical insights into one of the fastest-moving areas of intellectual property law.
In this episode we discuss:
- Why image copyright infringement is far more common than most people realise.
- How AI-powered image monitoring is changing copyright enforcement.
- Why most copyright infringement isn't malicious—but can still be costly.
- The biggest mistakes businesses make when using images they find online.
- Whether watermarking still works in an AI world.
- How AI-generated images are affecting photographers and stock image creators.
- How copyright owners can discover where their images are being used online.
- What businesses should do before using an image on their website or social media.
- How global copyright enforcement works across more than 200 countries.
- Why monitoring your intellectual property is just as important as registering it.
Key takeaways
One of the biggest misconceptions is that if an image appears in a Google search, it's free to use. It isn't. Copyright continues to apply regardless of how easily an image can be found online.
Marcus explains that monitoring intellectual property is becoming just as important as obtaining it in the first place. Technology now allows copyright owners to identify unauthorised uses of their work at a scale that simply wasn't possible a decade ago.
We also discuss the impact AI is having on photographers and other creators, with AI-generated content rapidly changing the stock image market and creating new challenges around ownership, licensing and enforcement.
Perhaps most importantly, Marcus reminds us that protecting intellectual property isn't only about recovering compensation. Sometimes it's about protecting your reputation, preserving the value of your creative work, and maintaining control over how your content is used.
Resources
MEDIA-IDENT Group
About Marcus Schmitt
Marcus Schmitt is the Founder and CEO of the MEDIA-IDENT Group, a Berlin-based legal technology company specialising in AI-powered copyright enforcement, brand protection and digital content provenance.
Since founding the business in 2015, Marcus has grown the company organically into a global operation that manages more than 100,000 copyright enforcement matters every month and monitors over 1.5 million image uses across more than 200 countries.
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Disclaimer: The information discussed in this episode is general information only and is not legal advice. If you need advice about your own circumstances, you should obtain professional legal advice.
