Protecting Creativity in the Age of AI: How ArtyShield.ai is Building a Trust Layer for Artists |
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how music is created, distributed and consumed. But as generative AI continues to evolve, artists face a growing challenge: the unintended and unauthorized usage of their work by AI for training and synthetic content creation.
For Jian Liu, Ph.D., founder and CEO of ArtyShield.ai, the answer begins with understanding AI system vulnerabilities and finding ways to turn those vulnerabilities into protective, trustworthy solutions for artistic works.
“Human creativity deserves to be protected,” Liu said. “At ArtyShield we want to build a more sustainable, more trustworthy ecosystem to help artists in the age of AI.”
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Fiscal Year 2027 Statistics* |
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*Numbers reflect information 07/01/2026 - 07/31/2026 and are subject to change
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- 19 Invention Disclosures
- 11 U.S. Patents Filed
- 3 U.S. Patents Issued
- 6 Licenses
- 0 Startups
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- 23 Innovations Being Marketing
- 94 Companies Contacted
- 37 Company Responses
- 17 Company Discussions
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| Innovation Disclosures |
U.S. Patents Filed | U.S. Patents Issued | Licenses |
Startups |
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| 19 | 11 |
3 | 6 | 0 |
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| Innovations being Marketed |
Companies Contacted | Companies Responded | Company Discussions |
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| 23 |
94 | 37 |
17 |
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UTRF's Memphis Office is hiring an assistant or associate technology manager to support the evaluation, protection, marketing, and commercialization efforts of early-stage UT technologies.
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Technology Maturation Award Now Accepting Applications |
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Applications Due to Campus Specific Office of Research by October 31, 2026 |
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UTRF's Technology Maturation Award aims to assist innovators in advancing new technologies on the path to market by awarding up to $20,000 in direct costs to the highest ranking proposals.
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Outreach completed by the UTRF team during August 2026
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In collaboration with UT Ventures, UT Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business launched “ENT 533: UT Ventures,” an entrepreneurial certificate course that teaches students to conduct rigorous company evaluations. Eight students are enrolled in the inaugural cohort.
- Participated in FedTech’s Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange Venture Studio bootcamp alongside two UT Knoxville technologies.
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UTRF and UT Ventures participated in the campus entrepreneurship panel at the Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) Grand Opening at UT Libraries. The event marked the opening of the only PTRC in Tennessee that provides patent resources to the public.
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Attended UT Knoxville’s Anderson Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Studio Demo Day. Student founders had the opportunity to showcase their progress and products to community members.
- Presented at the New Faculty Orientation at UT Knoxville’s Tickle College of Engineering.
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UT Innovators with newly opened disclosures in July 2026.
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Fuhar Dixit
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Daniel Costinett
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Leon Tolbert
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Yicheng Zhang
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Garrett Fields
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Colt Griffith
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Ali Mizrak
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Preetam Sharma
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Helen Cui
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Daniel Racz
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
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Anming Hu
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Ahmedullah Aziz
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Desiree Denman
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Xueping Li
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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Michael Best
College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry
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Mahbub Ullah
College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry
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Ishita Banerjee
College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
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Suparna Sarkar
College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
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Kevin Bai
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Xianchao Liu
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Noah Wilding
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Douglas Aaron
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Gabriel Goenaga
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Matthew Mench
Tickle College of Engineering, Dean of Engineering
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Thomas Zawodzinski
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Uday Vaidya
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Niu Jia
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Unmanaa Dewanjee
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Md Udoy
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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Paul Dalhaimer
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Tom Berg
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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Nathaniel Shepherd
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering/Bredesen Center
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Todd Reynolds
College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Microbiology
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Gladys Alexandre
College of Arts and Sciences, Dean of Natural Sciences
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Tasneem Ehsan
College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biology
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Hahley Wiltse
College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
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Kirk Davenport
Physical Plant
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Peng Zhao
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Phillip Kreth
Tickle College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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Wei Li
College of Pharmacy, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences
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Wenjing Zhang
College of Medicine - Memphis, Dept. of Pathology
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Jonathan Wall
College of Medicine - Knoxville, Knoxville Medicine
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Gabor Tigyi
College of Medicine - Memphis, Dept. of Physiology
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Joseph Jackson
College of Medicine - Knoxville, Knoxville Medicine
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U.S. Patents Issued to UT Innovators in July 2026
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12,683,380 | Modular Solid-State Circuit Breaker Including Integrated Switch and Voltage-Clamping Elements
12,685,719 | Pharmaceutical Compositions for Treating Breast Cancers and Methods of Uses Therof
12,688,270 | Systems and Methods for Human-Mounted Biosensors and Processing Biosensor Information
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