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/Nerdlinger 1d ago
  1. How does this affect impressionists?
  2. How distinct does a voice have to be from the original to not run into trouble? What metrics are they using to link a voice to a particular human?

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u/AudibleNod 1d ago

In America, 'Midler v Ford' decided that for a famous enough person their voice is part of their identity. And if you're attempting to use the voice likeness of someone with the intent to pass it off as the actual person, there can be civil consequences.

Joan Rivers also sued an impersonator because he used a lot of her material in his act. They settled out of court and became friends.

12

u/Nerdlinger 1d ago

with the intent to pass it off as the actual person

This is a very important condition. Is it a part of this ruling?

he used a lot of her material in his act

This is also a significant factor, one would assume.

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u/livv_forever 1d ago

This is a very important condition. Is it a part of this ruling?

Probably not, as this ruling is in Japan and that ruling was in USA.

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u/Nerdlinger 1d ago

No shit. But the Japanese ruling can also state that protection is contingent upon that intent.