Peter Law Group
Date: January 30, 2026
Audience: California employment lawyers, IP and AI counsel, creative industry leaders, and compliance teams

There’s a new kind of dispute sweeping through courts, studios, and startups alike—one that’s not just about creativity, but about accountability.

In a recent Deadline Hollywood article titled “When AI Plunders IP, Who Is to Blame?”, journalist Dominic Patten unpacks the mounting tensions between generative AI companies and the creators whose work these tools are trained on. The problem is simple, and yet incredibly complex: AI models are learning to write, illustrate, and compose by consuming copyrighted content—without permission or compensation.

For artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers, this feels all too familiar. Their intellectual property is being repackaged by machines, and the companies behind those machines are profiting from the results. But the tension doesn’t stop with artists or Hollywood studios. In fact, this kind of dispute should raise red flags for anyone working in labor law or employee rights—especially in California.

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(And Drag the Entertainment Lawyers with Them)

Peter Law Group
Date: January 24, 2026
Audience: Entertainment and media lawyers, in-house legal teams, production executives, business affairs professionals, and compliance leads

Lights dim, drum roll… enter the California Legislature, throwing new laws around like confetti. An entertainment lawyer (yours truly) looks on, coffee in one hand, stack of legal briefs in the other, with a weary smile.

Welcome to the 2025 edition of “What Fresh Legal Hell Is This?” As a jaded self-proclaimed industry insider, I’m here to walk you through 10 new California laws that are about to make our lives in showbiz law even more exciting (read: complicated). From AI clones of actors to kidfluencer piggy banks, Sacramento has been busy. Grab some popcorn (and maybe a stress ball), and let’s dive into this legal circus—with a dash of humor to stay sane.

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(Or: Why the State Might Pay for Half Your Movie)

Peter Law Group
Date: January 23, 2026
Audience: Entertainment and media lawyers, in-house legal teams, production executives, business affairs professionals, and compliance leads

Let’s be honest: “tax credit” isn’t the sexiest phrase in the film business. It’s not the stuff of dream sequences or final acts. It sounds like something your line producer whispers between bites of breakfast burrito while spreadsheet tabs multiply like rabbits. But behind all the eye-glazing legalese is one of the most powerful tools a producer can wield—and thanks to California’s newly expanded program under AB 1138, that tool just got a major upgrade.

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Peter Law Group | California Employment Law
Date: January 6, 2026
Audience: In-house counsel, HR leaders, production executives, and business affairs teams

California enters 2026 with new employment-law requirements that intersect directly with how entertainment and media businesses hire, onboard, staff productions, manage union dynamics, and structure incentives for talent and key executives. Because the industry relies on a mix of long-term employees and project-based crews, compliance issues can arise quickly if templates and practices are not refreshed at the start of the year.

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By Arnold P. Peter, Managing Partner, Peter Law Group

If recent years were about expansion, 2026 will be about enforcement.

California has laid much of the statutory groundwork for a forward-thinking approach to employment law. The next phase is testing how those laws operate in real workplaces, with regulators and private litigants pressing employers to demonstrate that compliance is more than theoretical.

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California’s legislature and regulators have introduced numerous changes affecting employers in 2026. Business owners and HR professionals must update their policies to comply with new requirements on wages, workplace notices, leave entitlements, and more.

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