We got another great one.

If I had a magic wand and could fix a legal woe, or answer a pressing question, here's what (at least) one creative would want to know:

Today's answers a little longer than the last one. But first I want to know:

Are you using AI to help generate or create work (images, copywriting, etc.) in your business?

Okay, now let's say you're a coach.

A client hires you for a 90-day program. During your work together, they share personal goals, business struggles, private details about their team. You take some of those notes, drop them into an AI tool to help you prep for your next session or draft a follow-up resource.

You've likely inadvertently broken your own confidentiality provisions in your contract.

Plugging your client info into your public (yes that includes your non-enterprise level paid account) Claude or ChatGPT account is considered sharing that confidential information with a 3rd party.

Most AI tools are not confidential by nature. Their terms of service allow for data review and third-party disclosure. Which means whatever you provide to an AI platform, like Claude or ChatGPT, is no longer considered confidential.

This doesn't just apply to your clients. It's also the case with your attorney as well.

This is a good spot for a detour from our original question...

Let me say this really big, in case it's the only part of this email you read...

If you give ChatGPT or Claude an email from your attorney, or ask it about a situation you need to hire an attorney for... you no longer have attorney-client privilege. Your AI chats can be shown in court.

In February, a federal judge in New York made a first-of-its-kind ruling in United States v. Heppner. They rules that conversations a client had with a publicly available AI platform were not protected by attorney-client privilege. The court ordered those AI chat logs turned over.

Attorney-client privilege exists to protect the conversations between a client and their lawyer, but the moment you share that information with a third party, the protection can disappear. The court ruled that typing privileged information into Claude (ChatGPT or the likes) is the same as handing it to a third party. Privilege waived.

If you're working with an attorney, or thinking of reaching out to one, it's best not to ask ChatGPT about your situation.

This ruling is a useful reminder that public AI tools are not confidential. Their terms of service allow for data review and third-party disclosure. Anything you type in is potentially accessible. That includes trade secrets, financial details, personnel information, and your clients information.

This is a good time to do three things: remind your employees, update your company AI policy, and make sure anyone using AI for work is using an enterprise tool with appropriate data protections (not their personal ChatGPT account.)

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So, do you need an AI clause?

In short, we do recommend adding an AI clause to your contracts (and double checking you have both a confidentiality provision and intellectual property provision.)

Here's what we'd recommend checking your contracts for:

• A confidentiality provision that clearly defines what client information stays private and how it can (and cannot) be used
• An intellectual property provision that addresses ownership of any work created with or informed by AI
• An AI-specific clause that sets expectations with your clients upfront

If you're not sure whether your current contracts cover all three, that's exactly what the Creative Law Foundry™ is here for.

When you build your contracts inside the Foundry's Contract Builder, it walks you through your AI use directly. It asks whether you use AI in your work, and includes the appropriate language based on your answer.

And if you want to understand the law behind all of it, our Understanding AI and the Law Masterclass is waiting for you in the resource library.

One last thought.

Yes, AI is moving fast. And we are beginning to see more case law emerge around it. But what that case law keeps confirming is that in many ways AI is being held to the rules that already exist.

When you use a well-drafted contract with a solid foundation, you shouldn't need to update it with every new news cycle.

We draft contracts built to hold up, even when things change.

​Get access to the contracts and education you need in the Foundry. ​

Cheers to a legally sound business,

Teresa Stastny

COO

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p.s. Looking to include an AI clause in your contracts? The Contract Builder in the Foundry makes it easy. Answer a few guided questions, including 2 on your AI use, and the Contract Builder drafts your contract for you. Annual memberships include 4 contract credits. Quarterly memberships include 1. Build your contracts as many times as you'd like!