Kibler Fowler & Cave Founding Partner John Fowler recently participated as a featured speaker at Copyforward, an invitation-only symposium on AI, creativity, and the law, held on April 24, 2026 at Flux Festival in Los Angeles.
Copyforward brought together legal experts, artists, filmmakers, scholars, and guild representatives to examine the implications of artificial intelligence in film and creative media. The panel on which John was featured was moderated by Doug Emhoff, and centered on hot button questions of AI, intellectual property, and copyright as they affect artists, filmmakers, and the broader creative industries. The panel, entitled “Beat the Clock: Hollywood v. AI,” featured filmmaker Ari Kuschnir, President of IATSE Local 695 and Mission Critical Media Jillian Arnold, mediator and arbitrator David Shraga, and attorney/law professor/former Senior Assistant GC to SAG-AFTRA Danielle Van Lier, and was set in a speed-round format in which speakers answered questions in two minutes or less, on a variety of AI-centric topics.
The symposium built on Mozilla Foundation’s Hollywood’s 8 Rules for AI, a blueprint developed with 91 creatives for redesigning AI deployment around creative leadership.
John specializes in complex business, intellectual property, media, and entertainment litigation. He is also an AI pundit who frequently advises clients on AI issues in entertainment and is deeply involved in crafting strategies for AI usage at trial. John recently co-authored an article in the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law on the current state of AI legislation in the entertainment sphere, available here.
“AI is transforming how creative work is made, protected, and monetized, and the legal questions surrounding authorship and intellectual property have never been more pressing,” said John. “It was a privilege to join this important conversation alongside leading voices from the entertainment industry, academia, and the creative community.”
The 2026 Flux Festival took place April 24–25 at Blum Gallery in Los Angeles. Day One featured the Copyforward symposium, while Day Two opened to the public with talks, sensory exhibits, and performances showcasing bold innovations in moving image and sound. The festival is presented in collaboration with Mozilla Foundation, AIMS (AI for Media & Storytelling) at USC, and the Center for Sports, Entertainment, Media & Technology Law (SEMT) at the USC Gould School of Law.
