Marvel & Disney’s IP Playbook: Protecting Digital Assets in the Age of AI

Written By Ryan Morrison

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Introduction

If you’ve watched a game on MLB.tv or streamed a movie on Disney+, you’ve interacted with the digital architecture Michael Saperstein helped build. An attorney who has sat at the intersection of law and technology for over two decades, Mike’s career arc traces the evolution of digital media—from the early "Wild West" of the dot-com era to the multi-billion-dollar IP licensing machines of Marvel Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company.

In this conversation, Mike pulls back the curtain on what it was like to be the "frontiersman" lawyer for some of the most iconic brands in history. He shares why traditional licensing models are being upended by generative AI, how the iPad changed the business of storytelling overnight, and why the very traits that make a great lawyer—risk aversion and technical precision—often become the greatest hurdles to building personal wealth.

 

Guest Snapshot

Name: Michael Saperstein

Titles: Former In-House Counsel at Marvel Entertainment and Walt Disney

Credentials:

    • Specialized in Digital Media and Interactive Law for 20+ years.

    • Second in-house lawyer at Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM).

    • First dedicated digital media lawyer for Marvel Entertainment.

    • Current Focus: Helping his children navigate the shifting professional landscape of the AI era and exploring the "post-corporate" phase of life.

 

The Frontier of Interactive Media: The MLBAM Blueprint

Before it was a multi-billion-dollar technology behemoth, Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) was described as "the billion-dollar business you’ve never heard of." Mike joined as the second in-house attorney during a period when the 30 MLB clubs made a historic vote to centralize their digital rights into a single entity.

This move was revolutionary for two reasons:

  1. Leveling the Market: It allowed smaller market clubs to benefit from the same digital growth as giants like the Yankees or Red Sox.

  2. Technological Superiority: The streaming platform MLBAM built was so robust it was eventually acquired by Disney to underpin the launch of Disney+.

Mike’s role involved "making new law" for e-commerce, online ticketing, and the industry’s first streaming deals. It proved that in the media world, the value of the "bundle" is often dictated by who owns the digital delivery mechanism.

 

The Marvel Era: Modernizing a Licensing Powerhouse

When Mike joined Marvel in 2008, just as Iron Man was released, the company was a lean licensing business with only a half-dozen lawyers. Despite its iconic characters, Marvel was "behind" in digital exploitation.

The Consumer Product Core: At the time, Marvel was primarily a toy and consumer product licensing business. Mike noted that the business became incredibly profitable because licensing rights is "almost pure profit"—there is no duplicative infrastructure to build; you are simply selling the right to use the IP.

The iPad Inflection Point: "Everyone saw what Marvel comics looked like on an iPad and that changed the business significantly," he explains. It shifted the medium from black-and-white Kindles to high-definition, interactive digital publishing, setting the stage for the massive content ecosystem that Disney eventually acquired.

 

Protecting IP in the Age of "Ingestion"

Today, the media industry faces its greatest challenge since the advent of the internet: Generative AI. As a former licensing lawyer, Mike views the unauthorized "ingestion" of IP by AI models as "anathema."

Disney's Proactive Pivot: Mike points to Disney's deal with OpenAI (specifically for the Sora product) as a landmark move. Instead of fighting a losing battle against fan-created content, Disney is creating formalized licensing paths so fans can use official characters legally.

The Millennium Negotiation: Mike envisions a future where legal work is unrecognizable. "You can envision tools where they have negotiating models built in... you have two AIs negotiating with each other, landing on a position in milliseconds, and you’re off to the races," he says. This shift will force entry-level associates to move from "doing" to "prompting" and auditing.

 

Wealth, Risk, and the Legal Mindset

One of the most insightful parts of the conversation was the exploration of why high-earning attorneys are often missing from wealth-building communities like Long Angle.

The Risk Aversion Trap: Lawyers are trained to be risk-averse. In a law firm environment, this trait is rewarded. However, it often translates to personal finance through a "deference to professionals."

"I wouldn't want my clients doing their own legal work, so I'm not going to try and do my own investing," is the common refrain. This leads many attorneys to miss the "ownership economy"—failing to leverage equity, options, or alternative investments that tech founders and entrepreneurs use to build generational wealth.

Mike, a crypto investor himself, suggests that breaking out of this mindset is essential for any professional looking to move from a "paid army" employee to a "motivated team of owners."

 

The Future of Work: Advice for the Next Generation

As a father of two college students, Mike is deeply concerned with how young people should prepare for an AI-dominant workforce.

The Return of Liberal Arts: A year ago, everyone was told to major in Computer Science. Today, Mike suggests that if "Claude Code" or other tools can handle the syntax, the real value shifts back to humanities and policy.

"If you know how to think, then you can do anything," he notes. He is encouraging his children to focus on AI policy and ethics—areas where there is currently "nothing happening" in Washington, leaving a massive green space for the next generation to define the rules of the road.

 

Memorable Quotes

 "It felt like we were doing everything for the first time, making new law and doing deals that had never been done before."

"You're dealt a certain hand at any given time in a company's life cycle... you do the best deal you can craft in the situation."

"There is a different mindset for someone who wants to work in a law firm for their entire career versus someone who wants to jump in-house to a startup-feeling environment."

"If you know how to think, then you can do anything."

 
 

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Ryan Morrison
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