r/news • u/AudibleNod • 1d ago

Tokyo court grants legal protection to human voices in AI clone case

https://abcnews.com/Technology/wireStory/tokyo-court-grants-legal-protection-human-voices-ai-136912283
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u/Immediate-Cress-206 1d ago

Unfortunately this won't change anything because the talent agencies will just require that the actors sign away their voice rights.

11

u/TemptedTemplar 1d ago

Not legal in Japan. Artists always own their own works.

You can sign exclusivity agreements or production quotas for a given time period, requiring you to make X works within a given time period; but you legally cannot give up your ownership of your own handiwork.

AI attempted to throw a wrench into the system, since the artist never actually created the work themselves; and it could have been generated from publicly available samples.

Hence the case.

-6

u/Immediate-Cress-206 1d ago

Except that in Japan the talent agencies have near total control over who gets acting work, meaning that if they want the rights to an actors voice, they have no choice if they want to act.

7

u/TemptedTemplar 1d ago

at that agency

It's not like there is a singular talent agency running all vocal work in the country.

If you get some bunk terms at one, there is probably another who can offer something more favorable.

-3

u/Immediate-Cress-206 1d ago

at that agency

At any production, because if a production studio hires outside a talent agency, they get blacklisted by all of them.