The Tokyo District Court has ruled that a voice is protected by the "right of publicity"โjust like one's physical appearance and nameโand therefore cannot be cloned for profit without permission.
"The human voice is a symbol of an individual's personality, just like an image," Judge Aya Takahashi noted in the ruling.
๐ The case began when anime voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda sued TikTok over an anonymous account that used an AI-generated version of his distinctive "deep, velvety baritone" to narrate videos about urban legends and conspiracy theories.
Tsuda's lawyers argued that the AI voice copied his vocal tone and timbre. They also pointed to comments under the videos from viewers who said they recognized their favorite actor. According to his legal team, the account was making at least $3,200 a month from the content. TikTok argued that it was simply a "generic male voice" created using the voice of the account owner's friend.
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