Artificial Intelligence and Digital Rights Policy

Mission Statement

At Waterside Productions, our mission is to uphold creative integrity and author rights while embracing responsible innovation.

We believe technology—when guided by ethics and transparency—can enhance creativity without diminishing the value of human expression.

Our role is to ensure that every story, idea, and voice we represent remains secure, respected, and fairly managed, whether published in print, online, or within emerging digital environments.

We are committed to transparency, consent, and accountability in all interactions between creative content and artificial intelligence technologies.

Purpose

This policy defines how Waterside Productions and its partners may or may not use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in connection with the company’s creative and business operations.

Its purpose is to protect the intellectual property, privacy, and creative rights of authors, and to ensure compliance with applicable copyright, data protection, and ethical standards.

Core Principles

1. Consent First — No author’s work may be used for AI training, data mining, or algorithmic analysis without written permission.

2. Transparency — Authors, vendors, and staff will be informed whenever AI technology is employed in any process involving creative content.

3. Accountability — Waterside Productions and its partners are responsible for ensuring the secure, ethical handling of all author and company materials.

4. Human Oversight — All creative and editorial decisions remain under human supervision and authorship.

5. Data Protection — All manuscripts, proposals, and proprietary materials are handled within secure, access-controlled environments and never exposed to public or consumer AI systems.

Scope

This policy applies to all:

· Employees, agents, contractors, and freelancers of Waterside Productions.

· Authors and creators represented or published by the company.

· Vendors, contractors, and technology partners handling creative materials on behalf of the company.

Prohibited Activities

Waterside Productions prohibits:

· Uploading unpublished manuscripts, artwork, or proprietary materials to public or consumer AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT Free, Gemini Personal, Claude.ai Free, Midjourney Consumer, etc.).

· Sharing manuscripts through unsecured or publicly accessible file links.

· Allowing vendors or subcontractors to use author or company content for AI model training, data scraping, or dataset development.

Permitted Activities

The company may use enterprise or business-grade AI tools for limited internal purposes only when the following conditions are met:

1. The AI platform contractually excludes user data from external model training or inclusion in public datasets.

2. All content is processed within secure, access-controlled systems (e.g., company-managed Microsoft 365, ChatGPT Team, Claude for Business, Adobe Firefly for Teams).

3. AI use is limited to administrative, or workflow support functions—such as metadata creation, summarization, scheduling, or communications support.

4. Authors are informed of such use upon request and may opt out of AI-assisted processing.

Approved tools may include, but are not limited to:

· Microsoft Copilot

· ChatGPT Team

· Claude for Business

· Adobe Firefly for Teams or Enterprise

No author content will ever be uploaded to consumer or public-facing AI platforms under any circumstance.

Vendor and Partner Requirements

All vendors, contractors, and service providers working with Waterside Productions must:

· Confirm in writing that they do not use or allow company or author content for AI training or data aggregation.

· Use only secure, enterprise or business-grade tools with equivalent data protection standards.

· Notify Waterside Productions in advance of any AI integration or system use that involves creative materials.

Any violation of these requirements will constitute a material breach of the agreement and may result in termination and legal action.

Monitoring and Enforcement

Waterside Productions will:

· Conduct annual reviews of AI tool usage and vendor compliance.

· Promptly investigate and address any reported misuse of creative materials.

· Communicate transparently with affected authors in the event of any data exposure or breach.

Ongoing Innovation and Responsibility

Waterside Productions recognizes that artificial intelligence and digital publishing technologies are evolving rapidly.

We are committed to continually evaluating and adopting innovative, secure solutions that support our authors, streamline operations, and uphold creative integrity.

As the digital landscape changes, Waterside will proactively assess new tools and standards to ensure our policies, practices, and partnerships remain responsible, transparent, and forward-looking.

Author Rights and Communication

· Authors may request details about any AI-assisted processes related to their work.

· Authors have the right to opt out of AI-supported handling of their materials.

· Waterside Productions will honor all such requests and confirm in writing when AI tools are not used.

Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually and updated as laws, technologies, and publishing standards evolve.

Revisions will be communicated to all staff, authors, and partners.