Why Copyright Matters in Life Sciences in the Age of AI: Featuring Neal Dunkinson of Copyright Clearance Center

In this special episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, part of our Breakthrough with Dr. Corey Stanton series, host Dr. Corey Stanton speaks with Neal Dunkinson, Sr. Director of Solution Sales at Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), about why copyright and licensing are becoming mission-critical in modern life sciences research, particularly in the era of AI. Life sciences teams both generate and consume vast amounts of scientific literature, clinical data and third-party content. As Neal explains, copyright and licensing are no longer back-office considerations; they are central to enabling compliant collaboration, reducing information silos and supporting confident decision-making across R&D, medical affairs and regulatory teams. In this episode, Neal discusses the most common challenges organizations face when managing scientific literature and internal knowledge workflows, and how those challenges evolve as companies grow from early-stage biotechs into global enterprises. He highlights where compliance risks and information silos typically emerge in real-world research environments and how structured licensing strategies can help mitigate them. The conversation also explores how CCC’s approach to “making copyright work” translates into practical value for scientists and knowledge workers: removing friction from access to content while ensuring proper rights management behind the scenes. As AI-driven analytics and generative tools become embedded in life sciences workflows, new copyright considerations are emerging. Neal explains how CCC supports responsible AI development by enabling lawful access to high-quality content while ensuring that publishers and creators are fairly compensated. He shares his perspective on what “responsible AI” means in scientific research and how licensing frameworks will likely evolve as AI adoption accelerates. Neal joined CCC in January 2025 and brings 20 years of experience in informatics solutions for the life sciences R&D market. Over the course of his career, he has held roles at Thomson Reuters, Accelrys/Biovia and SciBite/Elsevier, where he helped scale SciBite from a four-person startup through its acquisition and integration into Elsevier. At CCC, he focuses on licensing and content workflow solutions tailored to the needs of life sciences organizations, aligning product capabilities with complex research and compliance requirements. Tune in to learn how forward-looking content and licensing strategies can help life sciences organizations future-proof their research operations while advancing compliant, AI-enabled discovery. For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/ Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: https://twitter.com/Xtalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xtalks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured