FanClub AI Launches to Build an IP 'Trust Layer' for the AI Era

NEW YORK, NY – May 27, 2026 – As the creative and technology sectors grapple with a burgeoning intellectual property crisis fueled by generative AI, a new company, FanClub AI, has launched from New York with an ambitious plan to build a foundational “trust layer” between rights holders and AI developers. Led by a team of seasoned executives from entertainment, luxury, and tech, the company is introducing a two-pronged infrastructure aimed at both protecting intellectual property (IP) at scale and creating new avenues for monetization.

The venture emerges at a critical juncture. The rapid proliferation of generative AI has outpaced legal and ethical frameworks, sparking a wave of litigation. The landscape is currently fraught with over 125 active infringement lawsuits, as creators and corporations challenge the unauthorized use of their copyrighted works to train powerful AI models. This legal turmoil underscores the urgent need for a solution that can bridge the gap between technological progress and the rights of creators.

At the heart of FanClub AI's strategy is its first product, the FanClub Library Vault, designed to become a massive, secure repository for IP assets. The goal is to provide a vast library of ethically sourced and properly licensed material—from film clips and brand logos to architectural designs and works of art—for training AI systems. Simultaneously, the company is developing FanClub Interactive, a platform intended to help studios and brands license this protected IP for a new generation of fan-focused games and shoppable online experiences.

Taming the AI Frontier

The problem FanClub AI aims to solve is not theoretical. The last few years have seen a dramatic escalation in high-stakes legal battles that threaten to derail or redefine the future of artificial intelligence. Landmark cases have exposed the immense legal risks for AI companies that build their models on data scraped from the internet without permission.

A pivotal example is the recent class-action lawsuit, Bartz v. Anthropic. The case, which alleged that the AI firm used millions of pirated books to train its Claude language models, culminated in a historic $1.5 billion settlement. While the ruling did not outlaw the use of legally acquired copyrighted works for training under certain “fair use” conditions, it sent a clear message that leveraging pirated material is a costly infringement. This precedent has put the entire industry on notice, highlighting the financial and reputational peril of using unvetted training data.

This is just one of many fronts in the ongoing IP wars. Major media organizations like The New York Times are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for the alleged unlawful use of millions of articles, while Getty Images is in a legal fight with Stability AI over the use of its photo library. From music publishers suing over copyrighted lyrics to class-action suits targeting video-generation platforms, nearly every corner of the creative economy has been drawn into the conflict. It is this chaotic and legally precarious environment that FanClub AI seeks to bring order to.

“Every IP holder urgently needs rights infrastructure as AI accelerates on a parabolic curve toward AGI,” said Deborah Harpur, the company's Founder and CEO, in a statement. “FanClub AI is proactively building the cornerstone and laying the foundation to unblock adoption rates by providing a trust layer, bridging the gap collaboratively with tech companies and ensuring progress doesn't erode human creativity.”

The Library Vault: An Ethical Repository

FanClub AI’s proposed solution begins with the Library Vault. The company describes it as the first secure global repository where AI can be trained not only on licensed content but also to recognize and block unauthorized uses of that same content across digital ecosystems. The platform promises automated rights recognition and what it calls “chip-level API integration,” a term that suggests a deep, hardware-level approach to enforcing IP rules during the AI model's core operations. While technical specifics remain proprietary, the ambition is to create a system where compliance is built-in, not bolted on.

For rights holders, this presents a paradigm shift. Instead of playing a constant game of whack-a-mole against infringement, the Library Vault offers a proactive way to control how their IP is used in the AI ecosystem. More importantly, it transforms AI training from an existential threat into a potential revenue stream, allowing creators and brands to license their assets for ethical AI development.

This places FanClub AI in a growing but still nascent market for ethical AI data. Companies like Cogito Tech and Shaip are also working to provide compliant, transparent, and legally safe data to mitigate risks of copyright infringement and inherent bias. FanClub AI aims to differentiate itself through its scale, its focus on complex IP from entertainment and luxury brands, and its unique technological claims.

Beyond Protection: Monetizing Fandom in the AGI Era

The company’s vision extends beyond defensive measures. With FanClub Interactive, the strategy is to leverage the securely managed assets within the Library Vault to create new commercial opportunities. The platform will enable studios, brands, and other rights holders to license their IP for use in what the company calls “fan-centric, interactive entertainment and gamified shoppable experiences.”

This dual strategy of protection and monetization is central to the company’s appeal. It aligns with major industry trends, including the rise of the creator economy, the increasing demand for interactive entertainment, and the growth of gamified e-commerce. By providing a structured and secure way to integrate iconic characters, brands, and designs into these new digital formats, FanClub Interactive aims to unlock new value from fandom, which the company identifies as a primary driver of modern culture. This allows IP holders not only to safeguard their legacy assets but also to actively deploy them in new, revenue-generating contexts for the digital age.

The Visionaries Behind the Vault

Underpinning FanClub AI’s ambitious mission is a leadership team with extensive, hands-on experience in the very industries it serves. Founder and CEO Deborah Harpur has spent over two decades as a behind-the-scenes architect of brand integration and rights management, building infrastructure for giants like Netflix, Amazon MGM, and LVMH, and working on global marketing for over 180 films, including The Hunger Games, John Wick, and Black Panther.

Joining her is a powerhouse group of female executives. Kymber Lim, an Emmy Award-winning expert in visual effects and spatial computing, leads interactive development, bringing experience from projects with Apple Vision Pro, Disney, and Netflix. Paige Pedersen contributes over 26 years of luxury brand strategy from LVMH, where she mastered the intersection of culture and commerce for brands like Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon. Siera Jones brings 15 years of film and gaming partnership expertise from Warner Bros. and Lionsgate, having worked on major franchises like the DC Universe. Rounding out the team is Charlotte Adjchavanich, a 27-year beauty industry veteran from L'Oréal and Revlon who has pioneered digital and celebrity licensing partnerships.

This rare combination of deep domain knowledge across film, luxury, gaming, and technology positions the company to navigate the complex relationships between creators, brands, and tech platforms. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, and London and plans for expansion in Seoul, FanClub AI is currently raising funds to accelerate its product development as it prepares to build what it hopes will be the essential IP infrastructure for the coming age of artificial general intelligence.