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Copyright and AI-Generated Images and Videos:

4 min read

Copyright and AI-Generated Images and Videos

What Businesses Need to Know to Stay Legal

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are reshaping content creation. It is now easier for businesses to produce images and videos for use on websites, social media, and other digital outlets. All this is possible without the traditional hurdles of expensive photoshoots, special design skills, or complex video production. However, as exciting as it is, business owners must pose and confront the question of whether these AI-generated images and videos are legally safe for commercial use from a copyright perspective.

Understanding AI-Generated Content and Copyright

AI-generated content is created by training algorithms with massive datasets of existing images, videos, and text. The AI models then analyze patterns from the training data to generate new content. However, issues arise concerning the ownership of the generated content. Without clear legal guidelines, the ownership of AI-generated images and videos remains a gray area that leaves businesses and individuals vulnerable to potential disputes.

Most jurisdictions, including the United States and the EU, deny copyright protection to work purely generated by AI as it lacks human authorship. The U.S. Copyright Office stated that only content with human creative input can be eligible for protection. In its January 2025 report, the U.S. Copyright Office also states that copyrightability must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Laws differ globally. For instance, while the U.S. copyright office has rejected applications for AI-generated content, the U.K. allows copyright when a significant human intellectual effort guides the output.

Copyright laws do agree that a business risks infringement claims if AI-generated content resembles existing copyrighted material. So far, there has been a surge in the number of copyright lawsuits because of generative AI. A good example is Getty Images sued Stability AI, alleging its Stable Diffusion model copied millions of Getty’s photos without permission.

Generally, despite the efforts made to develop copyright laws for AI output, unlike content created by humans, there still lacks a clear legal framework for ownership and usage rights. For one, laws and legal frameworks struggle to keep up with the speed at which AI technology advances. This means that currently, no definitive, globally recognized legal standards firmly establish the copyright status of AI creations. For a business, although using AI visuals is not inherently legal or forbidden, it is best to be cautious and take due diligence.

Best Practices Every Business Owner Must Keep in Mind

  1. Read the terms of service (TOS)
    Every AI image and video generator has its own unique terms of service. Therefore, it is crucial to examine these terms carefully. Specifically, look for clauses that address issues such as commercial usage, ownership, indemnification, and TOS change policies.
  2. Understand model releases
    This especially applies where the AI-generated images may include recognizable human faces. In the same way that there are rights of publicity and privacy in traditional photography of human models, consider if this also applies to AI-generated faces.
  3. Documentation
    It is crucial to keep a record of each generated AI visual asset. Keep information such as AI platform used, prompts used, date of creation, TOS at the time of creation, and modifications made to the generated visual.
  4. Consider using well-established platforms.
    Although there is no AI platform that offers a 100 percent guarantee of copyright safety, it is safer to lean toward well-established and respected AI generators. Also, platforms trained using licensed or public domain data should be considered.
  5. Adopt the “human-in-the-loop” approach.
    This involves edits such as text overlays, color adjustments, or storyboarding. AI-generated content can be used as a starting point or for inspiration, but it is modified and refined by human designers. This results in a blend of AI assistant and human creative input to potentially mitigate copyright concerns.
  6. Seek expert legal counsel.
    When dealing with content that is central to a business identity, such as branding or major marketing campaigns, it is critical to seek guidance from an attorney specializing in intellectual property law.
  7. Stay informed
    Copyright law in the age of AI is not static; it is actively evolving. It is important, therefore, to commit to staying informed about legal developments, court rulings, and evolving practices. Business content strategies and practices also should be adjusted as the legal landscape changes.

Embrace the Future of Visuals Responsibly and Legally

The transformative power of AI to generate stunning visuals is promising to revolutionize business marketing and communication. However, business owners must approach this technology with a balanced perspective. That is, embracing its potential while avoiding copyright infringement, ensuring ethical content creation, and effectively safeguarding intellectual property assets.

6 Tax Filing Tips & Important Info for 2025

4 min read

6 Tax Filing Tips & Important Info for 2025As Benjamin Franklin said, there’s only two certainties in life: death and taxes. With the former, you don’t have much control over; however, the latter can be affected. That’s why we’re here to give you some tips and info about filing in our changing landscape.

Remember Key Deadlines

Whether it’s scheduling an alarm on your phone or penning it old school-style on a notepad, it’s critical to keep track of when your taxes are due. Of course, you’ll want to start early. When you do this, you have enough time to gather your info and forms, and make sure you don’t make any mistakes. That said, here are some important dates you’ll want to keep in mind.

  • April 15, 2025: Unless you request an extension, this is the most important deadline for personal income taxes. It’s also the deadline to pay any taxes you owe so you can avoid late payment penalties and interest. If you make quarterly payments, this is also your deadline. Also, there is an exception for South Carolina residents due to Hurricane Helene; their deadline is extended to May 1, 2025.
  • June 17, 2025: If you’re a U.S. citizen living abroad, including military personnel stationed outside the country, this is your deadline. Even though you automatically receive an extra two months without filing an extension, interest still applies to any unpaid tax after April 15.
  • September 15, 2025: If you’re self-employed and earn significant non-wage income, this is the third quarter estimated tax payment deadline for the 2025 tax year. 
  • October 15, 2025: This is your deadline if you filed for an extension in April. If you don’t make this date, you could pay extra fees and penalties.

Child Tax Credits Have Changed

The maximum Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) amount has increased to $1,700 for each qualifying child. And good news if you live in Puerto Rico: You’ll no longer be required to have three or more qualifying children to claim ACTC. Now you just need one or more.

Standard Deductions Have Increased

For 2024, here’s a snapshot:

  • Single or married filing separately – $14,600
  • Head of household – $21,900
  • Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse – $29,200

For more information about the changes to 2024 taxes, go here to review.

Take Care of Name Changes Pronto

This is for those who have had a name change as a result of marriage or divorce. This also applies if you have people who work for you who have had these changes. Whether it’s you or your employees, contact the Social Security Administration as soon as possible. If names and numbers don’t align, the processing of taxes and refunds will be delayed.

Make Sure ITINS Are Current

That’s Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers. People who have these generally don’t have a Social Security number. If this pertains to you or any of your employees, check the expiration dates; if necessary, renew them as soon as possible.

Create an IRS Online Account

When you create this account, you get secure access to your tax information, including payment history, all your tax records and other important tax data. When everything is digital, you can streamline your prep time, and it can help you identify overlooked deductions or credits.

Filling out your taxes the right way takes time. However, the smartest tactic to ensure your taxes are prepared correctly is to consult a professional tax advisor. No matter how you end up tackling your taxes, it makes good sense to start early and learn as much as you can about IRS tax changes. This way, you’ll have less chance of encountering any hiccups along the way.

Sources

Tax Tips for IRS Filing in 2025 (TY 2024) – The Boom Post

Tax season 2025: All the deadlines taxpayers should know – CBS News

Tax Time Guide 2025: Essentials needed for filing a 2024 tax return | Internal Revenue Service

Rules of the Roth

4 min read

Rules of Roth IRAWith a Roth IRA, the owner can make limited contributions each year. In 2025, the limit is $7,000; $8,000 if age 50 or older. Only people who earn less than $150,000 (single filers) or under $236,000 (married filing jointly) can make a full Roth IRA contribution. While contributions do not qualify for a tax deduction, earnings are not taxable once the account has been open for five years. Contributions, which were previously taxed as income, can be withdrawn at any time.

Once you open and contribute to a Roth IRA, the five-year countdown begins before you can take any earnings out tax-free. However, the holding period is actually measured from Jan. 1 of the year you made the first contribution.

For example, if you opened your Roth IRA on Dec. 31, 2024, the holding period backs up to Jan. 1, 2024. Therefore, your holding period is technically only four years instead of five to avoid paying taxes on earnings.

However, it gets even better because you are allowed to make a Roth contribution for the prior tax year up until tax day in April. That means if you open a Roth in April 2025 and designate your contribution for 2024, your holding period is shortened by another four months.

This is why it’s important to open a Roth as soon as possible, even if you cannot contribute a lot of money in the near future. It makes a great strategy for a high school or college student with job earnings to at least open a Roth for future use. While there is no upfront tax deduction, you may withdraw contributions penalty and tax-free at any time – which makes it ideal as both a liquid emergency account as well as long-term savings.

As for withdrawing earnings, the rules are trickier. As far as the IRS is concerned, contributions are withdrawn first and then earnings. Note that when earnings are withdrawn before age 59½, the amount is subject to both taxes and a 10 percent penalty, but there are exceptions that waive the penalty. For example, if your account is less than five years old, you can still withdraw earnings (penalty-free but still subject to taxes) for the following purposes:

  • To help pay for a first-time home purchase (up to $10,000)
  • To pay for college
  • To pay certain emergency expenses
  • To pay for expenses in connection with a federally qualified disaster
  • To pay expenses related to a birth or adoption
  • To pay for unreimbursed medical expenses or health insurance if unemployed
  • If you become disabled or are a survivor of domestic abuse

If your account is older than five years, you can avoid both taxes and the penalty if the funds are used to help pay for a first-time home purchase (up to $10,000) or if you become disabled.

After age 59½, there are no taxes and no penalties for any money withdrawn from a Roth IRA for any reason.

Multiple Roths

The same five-year holding period applies to all the Roths you own, with the clock starting at the first contribution to your first Roth. This means that if five years after the date you open your first Roth, you open a new Roth and contribute a bunch of income, you won’t have to wait another five years to tap those earnings tax-free. This perk does not apply to a Roth 401(k) account, which maintains a separate five-year holding period.

Conversion Benefits

When you convert a traditional IRA or 401(k) to a Roth (assuming your plan allows in-service withdrawals or in-plan conversions), you must pay income taxes in the year the money is converted. However, there are some very good reasons to convert:

  • Tax-Free Income – By converting assets when you’re still working, you can pay the taxes owed with current income, but from that point on, the Roth IRA will grow tax-free. This is particularly helpful in diversifying your tax liability during retirement if you have other income sources (e.g., pension, brokerage account, Social Security).
  • Eliminate RMDs – If you continue working into your 70s, you may continue contributing to your Roth IRA, and assets converted from a 401(k) or traditional IRA are no longer subject to required minimum distributions. This way, your full account balance has the opportunity to continue growing for later retirement and/or for your heirs.

Be aware that converting a taxable retirement account to a Roth IRA begins its own five-year timetable, so convert long before you need to begin withdrawals.

Beefing Up Laws for Illegal Immigrants and Preparing for Future Disasters

3 min read

S 5,HR 152,HR 153,HR 164,HR 471, HR 187, HCon Res. 1Laken Riley Act (S 5) – A holdover from the last congressional session, this bill was re-introduced by Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) on Jan. 6. It is similar to a 1996 law, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, that deports illegal immigrants who are found guilty of serious crimes. This new bill enables the government to detain and deport illegals who are arrested for serious crimes or misdemeanors (such as shoplifting), but they do not have to be charged or found guilty. The legislation passed in the Senate on Jan. 20 and the House on Jan. 22, and it is expected to be the first bill signed by the Trump administration.

Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act (HR 152) – This legislation would amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to authorize a new study designed to streamline and consolidate data regarding the collection of preliminary damage assessments. It was introduced by Rep. Mike Ezell (R-MS) on Jan. 3, passed in the House on Jan. 13, and is currently in the Senate.

Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act (HR 153) – This is a disaster companion bill, also introduced by Rep. Mike Ezell (R-MS) on Jan. 3. It would create an online repository for recipients of Federal disaster assistance to meet specific reporting requirements. The bipartisan bill passed in the House on Jan. 14, and its fate also lies with the Senate.

POWER Act of 2025 (HR 164) – Also known as the Promoting Opportunities to Widen Electrical Resilience Act, this non-controversial bill was passed on Jan. 15 under a House procedure called “suspension of the rules.” It would allow Federal agencies to provide essential assistance for the emergency restoration of power and not restrict utility company recipients from also qualifying for hazard mitigation assistance if necessary. The bill amends the previous Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (1988), which details the process for federal government assistance to state and local governments following a major disaster. The bill was introduced by Rep. Valerie Hoyle (D-OR) on Jan. 3 and currently lies with the Senate.

Fix Our Forests Act (HR 471) – The purpose of this bill is to expedite improvements in forest management activities on National Forest public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands. This bipartisan legislation was introduced by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) on Jan. 16 and passed in the House on Jan. 23. It currently lies with the Senate.

MAPWaters Act of 2025 (HR 187) – This bipartisan bill authorizes the standardization, consolidation, and publication of federal waterways data regarding outdoor recreational uses by the public, as tracked by federal land and water management agencies. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) on Jan. 3, passed in the House on Jan. 21, and is under consideration in the Senate.

Regarding consent to assemble outside the seat of government (HCon Res. 1) – This concurrent resolution was introduced on Jan. 3 by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN). It is a bipartisan resolution, agreed to by all four majority and minority leaders in both houses, that would allow members of the House and the Senate to assemble at a location outside the District of Columbia if it is in the public interest. The resolution passed in the House on Jan. 3 and currently rests in the Senate.

Dissecting Bookings and Annual Recurring Revenue

4 min read

What is Bookings and Annual Recurring RevenueWith the number of Amazon Prime member subscribers growing from 58 million in 2016 to 180 million in 2024, according to Statista, there’s a sustained recurring subscription model that one of America’s most successful retailers has increased more than 200 percent in eight years. Whether it’s a large company such as Amazon or a solopreneur beginning their recurring subscription services, it’s important to first distinguish between overall bookings and recurring revenue; and then to illustrate how businesses can measure these two types of revenue.

Dissecting Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Bookings

Bookings are assurances of all anticipated earnings (recurring and one-off deals) because the business hasn’t satisfied the terms of the contracted services. Once it’s completed, the booking will turn into actual revenue. This factor is present in all sales deals, regardless of when revenue or cash will be transferred to the business from the customer. Non-recurring revenue includes training, special consulting projects, etc. (things that are one-off).

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is a way to gauge recurring revenue a business projects to earn on a yearly basis. It’s quite common in eCommerce industries – be it subscriptions for food, software, etc. that are billed on a monthly or annual time frame.

How ARR Helps Businesses Analyze Operations

Businesses can determine demand trends, which help forecast recurring revenue. Lenders and investors can see how (in)efficient a company is with its marketing and sales efforts. It gives business owners and management the ability to determine customer retention and growth prospects while it provides internal and external users the ability to estimate a subscription’s worth. Additional insight businesses can gain from this metric include how much new customers add, how much renewals and upgrades impact ARR, and how churn and downgrades impact ARR.

How to Value a Company Using ARR

One common metric is Enterprise Value divided by ARR (EV/ARR), which is similar but important to distinguish from the EV/Revenue ratio. Since the ARR only factors in recurring revenue versus the EV/Revenue, which factors in all revenue regardless of the revenue recurring, the initial ratio provides a better assessment of the recurring revenue only. Assuming a company has an ARR multiple of 7 and its ARR is $15 million, the ARR has an enterprise value of $105 million.

Monthly Versus Yearly Recurring Revenue

While Monthly Recurring Revenue is not an entry on a business’s financial statements, it’s more of a key performance indicator (KPI). It’s not uncommon for companies to include it as part of their earnings releases. If a recurring subscription revenue is done monthly, it’s converted into Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) as follows: MRR x 12 = ARR.

Recording Bookings

When a contract is signed, or an order is placed, it depends on how it’s handled. If the business receives cash prior to completing their monthly or yearly service expectation and say the contract is for $20,000 per month for 12 months, it would be recorded as follows:

Debit: Cash $240,000

Credit: Deferred Revenue $240,000

Since the contract has just been signed, but there’s been no product/service rendered, deferred or unearned, revenue has been created.

For every month that passes, the journal entry will progress as follows:

Debit: Deferred Revenue $20,000

Credit: Revenue $20,000

The deferred revenue account drops from $240,000 to $220,000, assuming the starting deferred revenue balance is even and there’s no deferred revenue.

The following month, the journal entries would be as follows:

Debit: Deferred Revenue $20,000

Credit: Revenue $20,000

This would occur every month until the end of the 12-month period.

Conclusion

When it comes to accounting for revenue, whether it’s booked, fulfilled by the company, or the payment received by the company, along with analyzing the time frame, it’s equally important to be familiar with the type of revenue it is for one to see how the company is performing.

Analyzing Return on Ad Spending

3 min read

What is Return on Ad SpendingReturn on Ad Spend (ROAS) is one way to help advertising and marketing professionals and investors analyze how well promotions do (or don’t) produce sales. It helps advertisers develop data based on their campaigns’ revenue production (or lack thereof). Understanding how this metric is calculated and how to analyze ROAS is essential for businesses to monitor and increase their advertising performance.

Known as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), ROAS determines how much sales are generated per dollar invested on advertising outlays. It separates advertising costs from the company’s costs, and it focuses on:

1. The differences between advertising income and advertisement expenses

2. Assisting companies with creating efficient budgets

3. Identifying unprofitable campaigns

How ROAS is calculated:

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) = Revenue generated from ad campaign/Total advertising costs for a specific campaign

The revenue generated from an ad campaign is the revenue immediately assignable to promotions utilizing a tracking tool.

Total advertising costs for a specific campaign are expenses explicitly connected to the advertising platform.

The resulting calculation determines the business’ return on ad spend, giving owners and managers an idea of how well (or not) ad spending impacts the company’s sales. It similarly enables business owners to reconcile the company’s budgeted advertising costs against growing sales metrics. The following hypothetical breakdown shows what a positive scenario looks like:

A ROAS of 10 = $10 of revenue was earned for every $1 spent on ads. This would translate into:

Total Ad Spend: $10,000

Revenue Generated: $100,000

ROAS = $10

ROAS = 10:1

Important considerations when calculating this include factoring in merchant expenses, costs for digital content production, and costs incurred from media platforms. It’s also important to consider that it’s not always cut-and-dry as to how and what specific ads convert potential customers into paying customers. Assigning the exact ad platform or campaign is a common problem when determining the exact ROAS.

Credit analysis conducted by lenders evaluates ROAS to determine the sales ability of companies seeking loans, especially with promotion-centric companies. The higher the ROAS, the less risk there is and the more reliable the revenue from each campaign. For merger and acquisition professionals, ROAS trends offer insight into a target company’s sustainability. It helps determine if a company’s advertising campaigns can sustain themselves and keep generating future growth.

It’s equally important to see how ROAS compares against other metrics. While ROAS focuses on revenue generated per dollar spent, the advertising-to-sales ratio looks at the total proportion of sales driven by advertising efforts. Similarly, while ROAS measures the revenue per ad spend, return on investment analyzes the comprehensive profitability for the complete level of marketing expenses – not exclusively advertising. While ROAS is a short-term measure on instant sales, Lifetime Value looks at the customer’s history with the company and the entire revenue the company earns from the relationship.

While this metric is helpful for many professionals, it’s important to ensure that only necessary data is included and customer conversion is monitored precisely in order to get the best output.

Why Your Business Needs a Vertical AI Agent: Top Benefits for Niche Markets

4 min read

Why Your Business Needs a Vertical AI AgentThe rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is continuously transforming how businesses operate, offering opportunities for efficiency, innovation, and growth. However, in an increasingly competitive landscape, businesses seek solutions tailored to their specific industries. To meet this demand for more tailored tools, vertical AI agents are emerging as key to staying ahead in the age of specialization.

What are Vertical AI Agents?

Vertical AI agents are designed to solve specific problems within industries in areas such as finance, retail, and healthcare. This differs from horizontal AI, which provides general capabilities across various sectors. Horizontal AI cross-functional applications such as marketing automation are applicable across different sectors. These horizontal AI solutions were witnessed in the early days of AI, when companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon created broad AI solutions. These solutions handle multiple tasks but are not optimized for any specific ones.

Vertical AI has been enabled by advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs), which now possess the capability to process complex, industry-specific data and automate complex tasks. These breakthroughs and the inefficiencies of outdated technologies in many industries have created a demand for specialized solutions. Additionally, some platforms simplify the creation and deployment of vertical AI by providing data management and customization tools. At the same time, businesses increasingly recognize AI’s potential to drive efficiency and competitive advantage.

Vertical AI agents are emerging as the next disruption in tech and are anticipated to dominate in 2025. With its market valued at $5.1 billion in 2024, the figures are projected to rise to $47.1 billion by 2030.

Some areas where vertical AI agents are used include finance to enhance risk assessment models and provide insights into market trends and investment opportunities.

Banking institutions are also deploying vertical AI agents to detect fraud in real-time and reduce manual intervention.

In retail verticals, AI agents help personalize product suggestions for customers.

It is important to note that the success of vertical AI precision depends on its ability to solve clear and specific problems. It leverages industry-specific data and domain expertise to deliver solutions that have better precision than general AI systems.

As such, some companies have begun building their own AI tools by using their datasets to create tailored solutions for their specific industry challenges.

Key Benefits of Vertical AI Agents for Niche Markets

  1. Increased operational efficiency – Frees human resources by automating complex and repetitive tasks to increase productivity. Employees have more time to focus on tasks that require creativity, strategy, or problem-solving.
  2. Enhanced accuracy and decision-making – Vertical AI agents are trained on vast amounts of industry-specific data. As a result, they deliver more accurate and consistent results. This reduces human error, which may have dire consequences in critical high-stakes fields such as healthcare and finance.
  3. Cost saving – automating tasks traditionally performed by large teams helps reduce costs. It lowers payroll expenses and minimizes operational costs. This enables companies to reallocate resources to innovation and growth rather than to routine tasks.
  4. Unlock new markets – traditional software solutions may struggle to penetrate niche markets. This is because of their complexity or unstructured data requirements. However, vertical AI agents handle these challenges effectively, opening up new revenue opportunities in previously underserved segments.
  5. Improved customer experience – vertical AI agents enhance customer interaction since they can provide personalized service and faster response time.
  6. Competitive advantage – businesses leveraging vertical AI agents have a significant competitive edge over competitors relying on generalized solutions.
  7. Driving innovation – vertical AI agents streamline operations and offer data-driven recommendations. This enables businesses to experiment and develop cutting-edge products and services. Ultimately, a business can maintain a competitive edge in niche markets.

Challenges and Considerations

Vertical AI agents have compelling benefits but also come with some challenges. A business must navigate the potential challenges during implementation. This includes integration with existing systems, data privacy concerns, employee resistance, and the need for ongoing human oversight. The good news is that with careful planning and a strategic approach, it is easy to overcome these challenges and fully realize the benefits of vertical AI.

Closing Thoughts

Automation has become a critical tool for businesses that want to remain competitive. As the demand for smarter and more efficient operations rises, vertical AI agents are emerging as a solution. These advanced AI solutions deliver targeted results by focusing on niche applications. As AI continues to advance, vertical AI agents will become more efficient and accessible, integrating with broader systems.