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概述
Tennessee's 2024 ELVIS Act was among the first laws to extend it explicitly to AI voice clones and digital replicas. AI can now copy someone's voice or face from a small number of samples. State laws, union contracts and proposed federal bills such as the NO FAKES Act are what decide who may make and sell a digital version of a real person.
深入探讨
The right of publicity grew out of privacy law and is set by each state. There is no general federal version, and the rules differ widely. Some states have statutes, some rely on court decisions, and some offer little protection. Voice cases came before AI. In Midler v. Ford (1988) and Waits v. Frito-Lay (1992), US courts held advertisers liable for hiring sound-alike singers to imitate distinctive voices. AI makes that kind of imitation cheap and easy to scale. Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act) was signed in March 2024 and took effect on July 1, 2024. It added voice, including simulated voice, to the state's protected rights. It also created liability for anyone who publishes an unauthorized replica, and for anyone who distributes software or tools whose primary purpose is producing unauthorized replicas. Other states moved too. In 2024 California passed AB 2602, which limits vague contract terms for digital replicas, and AB 1836, which covers digital replicas of deceased performers. New York and Illinois also updated their laws. At the federal level, the NO FAKES Act was introduced in the Senate in 2024 and reintroduced in 2025 with backing from entertainment unions and some technology companies. It would create a national right over digital replicas, a notice-and-takedown system for online services, exceptions for news, commentary and parody, and protection that continues after death. It had not been enacted as of late 2025. Contracts matter as much as statutes. SAG-AFTRA's 2023 agreement with the studios, reached after a long strike, requires consent and payment for digital replicas. In 2024 Scarlett Johansson publicly objected that an OpenAI voice called Sky sounded like her, and OpenAI paused that voice. A common misconception is that copyright protects your voice. It does not. Copyright covers specific recordings, not the sound of a person's voice.
战略影响
风险与安全
灾难性和日常的人工智能危害都取决于谁了解风险以及谁能够采取行动。
更清晰的判决
公众和专业素养决定强有力的安全政策在政治上是否可行。
打破炒作
清晰的解释可以减少炒作、实验室公关和模糊道德剧场的影响。
The Future of Right of Publicity and AI Digital Replicas
Expect more state laws that follow Tennessee and California, along with continued debate over a federal standard that would reduce the current patchwork. The main unresolved questions are how to protect parody and commentary without leaving obvious loopholes, whether toolmakers should be liable for how people use their tools, and how long rights should last after death. Union contracts in film, television, music and video games will probably keep setting practical norms faster than legislatures do. Technical measures such as voice watermarking and provenance records may help people enforce these rights, but they cannot replace clear legal rules.
现实世界的实施
A singer finds an AI-generated track imitating her voice being sold online. Under Tennessee's ELVIS Act she can pursue whoever published it without authorization. She may also be able to pursue the maker of a tool whose primary purpose is producing such unauthorized replicas.
A performer on a SAG-AFTRA film or TV production is digitally scanned. Under the union's 2023 contract, the studio needs the performer's informed consent and must pay them before using that digital replica in new scenes.
A California voice actor is offered a contract clause letting the company use a digital replica of their voice in place of work they would otherwise do in person. Under AB 2602, that clause may be unenforceable if it lacks a reasonably specific description of the intended uses and the actor had no lawyer or union representing them.
A studio plans to recreate a deceased actor with AI for a new film. California's AB 1836 and New York's post-mortem publicity law require the estate's consent for many uses of this kind.
风险与防护栏
将存在风险视为科幻小说，同时能力复合。
混淆了表面产品安全与高度自治下的对准。
只给非英语和非专业观众留下低质量的资源。
实施路线图
单独的产品危害、误用和失控/失调风险。
询问哪些证据会改变您对时间表和严重性的看法。
比起营销主张，更喜欢主要来源和具体评估。
确定一条行动路径：职业、政策、资金或技能——而不仅仅是意识。
不断探索
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常见问题
What is Right of Publicity and AI Digital Replicas?
The right of publicity is a person's legal right to control commercial use of their name, image, likeness and, more and more, their voice. Tennessee's 2024 ELVIS Act was among the first laws to extend it explicitly to AI voice clones and digital replicas. AI can now copy someone's voice or face from a small number of samples. State laws, union contracts and proposed federal bills such as the NO FAKES Act are what decide who may make and sell a digital version of a real person.
Which pre-AI cases held advertisers liable for imitating singers' distinctive voices?
In Midler v. Ford (1988) and Waits v. Frito-Lay (1992), advertisers were held liable for hiring sound-alike singers. These cases established voice protection long before AI.
What notable step did the ELVIS Act take beyond earlier publicity laws?
Besides adding voice to protected rights, the ELVIS Act reaches people who distribute software or tools whose primary purpose is producing unauthorized likenesses, not just those who publish the replicas.
When did the ELVIS Act take effect?
The law was signed in March 2024 and took effect on July 1, 2024.
What does California's AB 2602 address?
AB 2602 can make replica clauses unenforceable if they lack a reasonably specific description of uses and the performer had no lawyer or union representing them.
What was the status of the federal NO FAKES Act as of late 2025?
The NO FAKES Act was introduced in 2024 and reintroduced in 2025 but had not been enacted, so publicity rights remained mostly a matter of state law.
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