French Startup IPFC Unveils AI Rights Model to Protect and Pay Creators
Roger EbertPulitzer Prize-winning film critic whose reviews and essays defined cinema criticism for decades.
In an innovative move to address the burgeoning challenges posed by artificial intelligence in the creative sector, French entrepreneurs Emmanuel Lipszyc and Thomas Cohen have launched IPFC. This new venture seeks to establish a robust framework for safeguarding and compensating creators whose intellectual property is utilized by generative AI systems. Their approach draws inspiration from established rights management bodies, such as SACEM, the French society for authors, composers, and publishers.
The core innovation of IPFC lies in its shift from managing individual creative works to overseeing creators' identities. As AI models increasingly absorb and reformulate content, making it difficult to trace original contributions, IPFC's focus on identity management offers a more practical solution. By registering key personal attributes like name, image, voice, and visual identity, creators can define how these elements are used by AI and other digital platforms. This proactive stance aims to intervene upstream, even before AI-generated content is created, ensuring protection and fair remuneration.
IPFC is positioning itself as a comprehensive solution for rights management across diverse industries, including film, music, publishing, sports, and influencer talent. The company plans to expand its services into luxury and fashion sectors, with a broader rollout anticipated in 2027. Through its monitoring systems, IPFC can detect potential infringements of registered identities in AI-generated and social media content, initiating takedowns or pre-litigation actions as necessary.
Emmanuel Lipszyc highlights the critical need for this new model, noting that a creator's name serves as the most reliable marker for identifying the use of their creative universe. This provides a clear entry point for both protection and financial compensation in an increasingly complex digital landscape. The rapid proliferation of AI-generated content, with projections indicating that up to 90% of digital content could soon be AI-derived, underscores the urgency of establishing clear rules and restoring control to creators. Thomas Cohen emphasizes the appeal of licensed AI products, suggesting that a transparent and regulated ecosystem will ultimately be more attractive than operating in legal grey areas. IPFC is already engaging with leading AI platforms, aiming to be a pioneer in offering licensed AI solutions and shaping a more equitable future for creators.
The emergence of IPFC signifies a crucial step in adapting intellectual property rights to the age of artificial intelligence. By emphasizing identity management and a regulated framework, the startup aims to provide a sustainable model for creators to thrive while fostering innovation in AI development. The success of IPFC could pave the way for a new standard in how creative works and identities are valued and protected in the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem, mitigating the chaotic landscape that currently challenges artists and content creators worldwide.

