Paul Melcher is a highly influential and visionary leader in visual tech, with 20+ years of experience in licensing, tech innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Director of MelcherSystem and has held executive roles at Corbis, Gamma Press, Stipple, and more. Melcher received a Digital Media Licensing Association Award and has been named among the "100 most influential individuals in American photography"
When MANGO launched its first fully AI-generated ad campaign last year, it made headlines: one of the first major fashion brands to swap models and sets for pixels and prompts. But now it’s gone a step further. This time, it’s not just campaign visuals or aspirational lookbooks. MANGO has begunContinue Reading
As generative AI continues to infiltrate everything from smartphone cameras to image editors, one deceptively simple question remains unresolved and increasingly urgent: How much AI involvement is enough to call something AI-generated? It is not just a technical question or a legalContinue Reading
For years, we’ve been told that data is the new oil, and in the world of artificial intelligence, that metaphor feels almost understated. Every major AI breakthrough, from large language models to image synthesis engines, rests on vast amounts of labeled, real-world data. But unlike oil, data isn’t something youContinue Reading
Six years ago, a group of concerned publishers and a formidable creative software company, well-versed in the manipulation of digital content, joined forces to develop what may be the most important and underestimated standard of this generation. Ironically, this was before the rise of Generative AI. Since then, three summitsContinue Reading
Perception, like clouds, is shaped more by the observer than the object. One person sees a horse galloping through the sky; another sees a face, a dragon, or nothing at all. The sky doesn’t change—the viewer does. And so it is with images. We do not see the world asContinue Reading
Copyright is a Pillar of Provenance Copyright isn’t just a legal mechanism—it’s also a system of traceability. When a piece of content is protected by copyright: Its origin is clear (who created it, when, and under what rights). Its chain of custody can often be reconstructed (via licenses, credits, metadata,Continue Reading
More and more businesses are waking up to a critical risk: manipulated visual content can inflict lasting damage on brand reputation, customer trust, and ultimately, the bottom line. What was once primarily a concern for news organizations has now become a pressing issue for any company using images and videoContinue Reading
A Market on the Brink The proliferation of generative AI has ushered in a transformative era in visual content creation. Capable of producing photorealistic images from text prompts in seconds, tools like Midjourney, DALL·E, and Adobe Firefly are reshaping how businesses and individuals source images. By August 2024, 39.5% ofContinue Reading
By now, we’ve all heard the stories: generative AI devours copyrighted content for breakfast. And while there’s been a lot of noise, little to nothing has been done about it. Photographers and videographers keep uploading their images online—easy pickings for scrapers—while lawmakers stand frozen, terrified that regulating too hard mightContinue Reading
In the fast-paced world of online retail, visuals aren’t merely a factor—they’re decisive. As e-commerce continues to dominate consumer habits, the way products are photographed, edited, and displayed has become an urgent priority. But beneath the surface, a quiet revolution is underway. The recent Photoroom report, Clothing Photography and PhotoContinue Reading