Josette Corazza, UVAToday ; Following Scarlett Johansson Flap, Intellectual Property Expert Talks AI and the Law
"UVA School of Law professor Dotan Oliar, an expert in intellectual property who teaches art law and copyright, looked at the OpenAI controversies and how artificial intelligence is raising new legal questions and reviving old debates.
Q. What recourse does an actor have when Open AI claims to use a similar voice, but not the actual voice?
A. The “right of publicity” is the relevant body of intellectual property law available to celebrities who believe their voice (or image or likeness) was misappropriated. This is a state, rather than federal, cause of (legal) action and a right now protected in the majority of states, although the scope of protection is not the same everywhere.
In a similar case from 1988, Ford Motor Co. wanted to use Bette Midler’s voice for a commercial, and just like reportedly happened here, Midler declined. Ford went and hired a “sound-alike” person. In a then-precedential ruling, the 9th Circuit Court decided in Midler’s favor and held that a person’s voice was a protected attribute within their right of publicity."
