As brands increasingly rely on AI to create marketing content, they face a growing set of intellectual property and publicity rights risks, particularly when the content features a real person. At Minx Law, we are advising both our brand clients and talent to revisit standard releases to address these new issues.
A model may have agreed to one photoshoot, but that permission does not always allow a business to use AI to change the model’s appearance across multiple creatives. The ease with which brands can reuse a model’s persona across different canvases, from social media to video, is becoming a contract issue for both talent and companies.
New York’s Fashion Workers Act is one of the clearest examples of where the law is headed. The Act requires separate, explicit written consent before a model’s digital replica can be created or used. This includes AI-generated or AI-enhanced versions of a model’s face, body, voice, appearance, or performance.
Why This Matters Now
In 2026, AI tools are already embedded in marketing workflows. A team may use AI to edit campaign images. A brand may want to extend the life of a photoshoot by creating new variations of existing content. A company may want to test an ad concept before booking a new production day.
Those uses may feel efficient, but they can create legal issues when a real person’s likeness is involved. The question is not only whether the original image was lawfully created, but rather whether the later AI-assisted use was authorized.
That distinction matters. A release for a photoshoot may allow the brand to use the original images in a specific campaign. It may not allow the brand to create new images, alter the model’s body or appearance, or use the model’s likeness in future ads that were never discussed.
Standard Releases May Not Cover AI Uses
As AI tools become more advanced, brands need agreements that speak clearly to digital replica rights. General language may not be enough. A contract that gives a company the right to use photographs or campaign assets may not clearly grant the right to generate new content using a person’s likeness.
New York’s Fashion Workers Act is important because it separates digital replica consent from ordinary campaign permission. In other words, a model agreeing to appear in a photoshoot or campaign does not automatically mean a brand can use AI to recreate, alter or repurpose the model’s likeness in other ways.
For years, brands have relied on broad photo releases and talent contracts to cover the use of campaign content across different platforms. The use of AI software creates a new risk profile. Today, it is easy to create a digital replica of a person’s face or overall likeness that can then be used beyond the original shoot for future campaigns or different markets, posing a threat to talent.
New York’s Fashion Workers Act shows that lawmakers are rethinking traditional consent rights. Permission to use someone’s image is no longer a blanket agreement and needs to explicitly state the use of AI to commercialize a person’s identity in marketing campaigns.
For brands, this is a clear signal to revisit standard creative agreements. As our marketing workflows evolve, it is best to address any use of AI-generated or AI-enhanced likenesses directly, with separate written consent and clear usage terms.
What Agreements Should Address
At Minx Law, we see this as a practical contract issue as much as a technology issue. Brands will and should continue using AI, but they also need to update their agreements to reflect how content is actually being created and used within their organization. Similarly, counsel representing talent should revisit standard releases so that talent understands – or limits – how their images can be repurposed and reused.
Agreements should clearly define, at a minimum:
- What content can be used
- Where content can be used
- Any term limitations on rights
- Whether paid advertising is included in the rights
- Whether edits, alterations, AI-generated uses, AI-enhanced uses, or digital replicas are permitted
If digital replica rights are included, the consent should be clear and separate. It should describe the scope of use, the purpose of use, the duration, and any compensation tied to that use.
If your business uses talent, influencers, models, creators, or AI-generated content, now is the time to revisit your agreements. Minx Law can help ensure your contracts keep pace with the rapidly evolving rules around AI and likeness rights.
