Why AI Training Data Is Facing a Legal Reckoning

Stuart MacDonald and Tom Bush sit down with patent and venture attorney Vance VanDrake, partner at FBT Gibbons (formerly Frost Brown Todd) and author of The Patent Game, to break down the rapidly evolving legal battlefield around artificial intelligence: what separates fair use from infringement in AI training data, why pasting proprietary ideas into public LLMs can destroy your patent rights and trade secrets, and whether AI can legally be named an inventor.

Guest: Vance VanDrake, Venture and Patent Partner, FBT Gibbons; author of The Patent Game

πŸ“š Get Vance's book, The Patent Game: https://amzn.to/3TIOL3R

In this episode:

β€’ The truth behind Anthropic's $1.5B lawsuit and what separates fair use from copyright infringement in AI training data

β€’ Why inputting proprietary software ideas or company data into public LLMs can instantly destroy patent rights and trade secrets

β€’ Can AI legally be named an inventor on a patent? (The DABUS case)

β€’ How startups can navigate IP strategy, defensive publications and copyright protection for AI-generated code

Connect with Vance:

LinkedIn:   / vance-vandrake-3857b64  

FBT Gibbons: https://fbtgibbons.com/people/vance-v...

Recorded live at Columbus AI Week (Sept 10–11, 2026), produced by the Enterprise Technology Association with JobsOhio: https://www.joinaiweek.com/columbus

β€” ABOUT ACTUAL REALITY β€”

The actual reality of AI in the real world. Hosted by Tom Bush, CEO of Actual Reality Technologies, and Stuart MacDonald, award-winning magician and AI consultant.

πŸ”” Subscribe:    / @actualrealitypodcast  

🌐 Website: https://actualreality.show

Tom on LinkedIn:   / bushtom  

Stuart on LinkedIn:   / stuartmacdonaldmagic  

πŸ“š Stuart's book, Putting in the Work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HFKV5848?...

Actual Reality Technologies: https://actualreality.tech

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