A ruling from the Tokyo District Court has established that a person's voice falls under the "right of publicity," similar to their name and appearance, thus preventing unauthorized profit-driven cloning. Judge Aya Takahashi emphasized that "the human voice is a representation of an individual’s personality, akin to their image."
The case originated when anime voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda filed a lawsuit against TikTok over an anonymous account that utilized an AI-generated imitation of his unique "deep, velvety baritone" to narrate content related to urban legends and conspiracy theories. Tsuda's legal team contended that the AI had replicated his vocal tone and unique characteristics. They highlighted comments from viewers who claimed they recognized Tsuda's voice. Reports indicated that the account was generating approximately $3,200 monthly from its videos. In response, TikTok maintained that the voice in question was merely a "generic male voice" produced using recordings from a friend of the account holder.
Since the account owner could not be traced, Tsuda pursued legal action against TikTok, seeking the removal of the videos. However, the case extended for nearly a year before being dismissed on procedural grounds, as all 188 contested videos were removed during the hearings, rendering the main claim irrelevant.
Informational material. 18+.