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[TECHNOLOGY] · Japan · 4 sources

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Part of situation: Legal disputes over AI voice cloning (4 clusters)

Tokyo Court rules AI voice cloning violates publicity rights

AI voice cloning publicity rights Kenjiro Tsuda Tokyo District Court intellectual property

The Tokyo District Court has issued a landmark ruling establishing that an individual's voice is protected under publicity rights law. This decision marks a significant legal precedent regarding the use of artificial intelligence to clone human voices without consent.

The case was brought by voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda, known for his work in various anime series. Tsuda sued after a TikTok account used an AI-generated replica of his distinctive baritone voice to narrate over 180 videos. The account, which amassed more than 200,000 followers, reportedly earned between $3,000 and $4,700 per month.

Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi stated that the human voice is a symbol of individual personality, comparable to a portrait. The court found that using a cloned voice with the intention of exploiting its commercial appeal constitutes an infringement of publicity rights. While the court recognized the principle of the violation, it dismissed the request to remove the specific videos because the offending TikTok account had already been deleted prior to the verdict.

Entities

Aya Takahashi · Kenjiro Tsuda · TikTok · Tokyo District Court

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

  • [○ 1 SOURCE] TikTok defended the content by claiming the voice used was a generic male voice. boingboing.net
  • [● 3 SOURCES] The Tokyo District Court ruled that a person's voice can be protected under publicity rights law. www.24matins.es · wwwhatsnew.com · boingboing.net
  • [● 2 SOURCES] The TikTok account using the cloned voice reached a peak of more than 200,000 followers. wwwhatsnew.com · boingboing.net
  • [● 2 SOURCES] Unauthorized use of an AI-cloned voice for commercial appeal constitutes an infringement of publicity rights. wwwhatsnew.com · boingboing.net
  • [● 2 SOURCES] Voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda sued over a TikTok account that used an AI-generated replica of his voice in over 180 videos. wwwhatsnew.com · boingboing.net
  • [DISPUTED] The court dismissed the request to remove the videos because the responsible TikTok account had already been deleted. wwwhatsnew.com
  • [● 2 SOURCES] The TikTok account using the cloned voice reached a peak of over 200,000 followers. wwwhatsnew.com · boingboing.net

Sources

Japón regula el uso de voces clonadas por inteligencia artificial [www.24matins.es]
厄介なAIの時代。 | 目黒川春秋 [megurogawa-pu.jugem.jp]
Un tribunal japonés sienta el primer precedente mundial: clonar una voz con IA sin permiso viola los derechos del actor [wwwhatsnew.com]
Japan court rules actors have right to their own voices [boingboing.net]