Art in Walled Gardens: Generative A.I. and the Law

In this talk, Sonia Katyal will examine the growing tension between generative A.I. and the legal regimes that govern art and creativity. Drawing from her recent work, she argues that while generative AI holds promise for expanding creative possibilities, restrictive licensing and private contracts risk confining artistic production and shrinking the public domain. Katyal will explore how copyright and trademark law might respond to these changes — and what’s at stake for the future of culture, ownership, and creative freedom.

As generative AI bolsters digital creativity, we argue that putting such creativity in the hands of art licensors risks contracting not only the pool of available raw materials from which artists draw upon, but also the capabilities of generative AI that empower artists to turn those materials into transformative artworks. This tendency risks shrinking innovation and creativity in the public domain, rendering culture something accessible only by digital key. In this talk, we argue that these privately ordered worlds, facilitated by restrictive licenses, risk producing a world where creativity is conformed — and thus transformed — not by intellectual property principles, but by contractual control.

About the Speaker:

Sonia Katyal is Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. A leading scholar on the intersection of technology, intellectual property, and civil rights, Katyal’s work explores how emerging legal frameworks shape access, expression, and innovation. Katyal’s current projects focus on artificial intelligence and intellectual property; trademark law, branding and advertising; the intersection between the right to information and human rights; and a variety of projects on the intersection between art law, cultural heritage and new media.

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This is an online talk and audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. It is open to the public and held on Zoom.

The featured speaker will present for 45 minutes, followed by an open discussion with participants.

About the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society:

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society is a research institute at the University of Toronto that explores the ethical and societal implications of technology. Our mission is to deepen our understanding of technologies, societies, and what it means to be human by integrating research across traditional boundaries and building practical, human-centred solutions that really make a difference.

We believe humanity still has the power to shape the technological revolution in positive ways, and we’re here to connect and collaborate with the brightest minds in the world to make that belief a reality. The integrative research we conduct rethinks technology’s role in society, the contemporary needs of human communities, and the systems that govern them. We’re investigating how best to align technology with human values and deploy it accordingly.

The human-centred solutions we build are actionable and practical, highlighting the potential of emerging technologies to serve the public good while protecting citizens and societies from their misuse.

The institute will be housed in the new $100 million Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre currently under construction at the University of Toronto.