A team of attorneys from Shutts & Bowen LLP’s intellectual property practice group, including Patricia M. Flanagan, Camila Chediak, Brian J. Paul and Jodi-Ann Tillman, recently authored the Florida chapter of the Chambers Global Practice Guide: Trademarks & Copyright 2026, providing an in-depth look at how artificial intelligence and digital media are reshaping legal strategy in trademark, copyright and personal identity disputes in Florida.
In the article, the authors note that AI-driven technology has dramatically increased cases involving unauthorized use of a person’s name, image or likeness in commercial and advertising contexts, highlighting an era of deepfakes and generative AI.
The attorneys detail Florida’s statutory and common-law rights of publicity, which prohibits the unauthorized commercial use of an individual’s identity without consent and highlight strategic uses of these claims in combination with federal trademark theories to combat AI misuse that confuses consumers or exploits personal identity. They also note how copyright theory complements these protections, particularly where creative works themselves are copied or materially altered. The article then turns to noteworthy statutory developments in Florida, including laws enacted in 2025 criminalizing the use of AI to create altered sexualized imagery without consent and requiring digital platforms to implement reporting and takedown procedures for deepfake content. Throughout the piece, the authors emphasize that practitioners must carefully blend statutory, common-law and federal frameworks to protect reputational interests, enforce trademark rights across borders, and navigate digital copyright enforcement in the rapidly changing landscape shaped by AI-enabled technologies.
To read the article, click here.
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Shutts & Bowen LLP, established in 1910, is a full-service business law firm with approximately 280 lawyers in offices in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach. Learn more about Shutts & Bowen at www.shutts.com.