Tag: Artificial Intelligence/AI
NO FAKES Act Introduced in Senate
On July 31st, right before the summer recess, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the NO FAKES Act, which has been substantially revised and improved from the previously circulated discussion draft. The bill seeks to address concerns over the use of unauthorized digital replicas of real people in the wake of improved and widely available...
Senate Formally Introduces Digital Replica Bill
After floating a discussion draft last year, a significantly revised and improved version of the legislation has been introduced in the Senate. The bill is a bipartisan effort to address AI-generated digital replicas at the federal level and is co-sponsored by Senators Koons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis. The bill remains titled the NO FAKES Act...
California Considers a Digital Replica Law for the Dead
Joining the frenzy of states trying to address concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) and particularly concerns expressed by the recording industry, Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan introduced a right of publicity bill in the California legislature, AB 1836, that would add a digital replica provision to California's postmortem right of publicity statute, Cal. Civ. Code §...
Tennessee Governor Signs ELVIS Act, Greatly Expanding State’s Publicity Statute
Yesterday, Governor Bill Lee signed into law the ELVIS Act which replaces the prior right of publicity statute in Tennessee. It goes into effect on July 1st. I analyzed the new law in detail earlier this week. The law uncontroversially adds voice to the enumerated protections but also greatly expands the scope of liability and...
House Subcommittee Sends Follow-Up Questions After AI Hearing
After the February 2nd House hearing about AI and how best to address unauthorized use of a person's voice and likeness at the federal level, two members of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet sent me (Prof. Rothman) additional written questions to answer for the record. Representative Issa's questions focused on...
House Hearing on AI Takes Seriously the Dangers of Transferring Rights to a Person’s Voice and Likeness
Last Friday, February 2nd, the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet considered what, if anything, to do about AI and the unauthorized use of a person's voice and likeness. The hearing was held in Los Angeles to coincide with Grammys weekend. The hearing focused in part on the recently proposed No AI...
House’s Draft AI Bill Risks Loss of Control over Our Own Voices and Likenesses
***UPDATED TO REFLECT INTRODUCTION TO CONGRESS On January 9, 2024, Representative Maria Salazar circulated a draft of a bill to address voice and likeness rights in the context of AI. The bill is titled “No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act of 2024,” shorthanded as the “No AI FRAUD Act.” Unfortunately, despite its...
House Releases Draft Legislation Targeting AI
Earlier this week, Representative Maria Salazar circulated a discussion draft of a bill to provide federal "property rights in likeness and voice" to combat concerns over AI-generated replicas of recording artists' and actors' performances. This continues the recent interest in Congress of tackling publicity rights at a federal level in light of ever-improving AI technology....
Comments Submitted to Copyright Office on the Right of Publicity and AI
In response to the Copyright Office's Notice of Inquiry and Request for Comments on Artificial Intelligence and Copyright, I submitted comments, particularly focused on the Office's questions pertaining to the right of publicity and the use of a person's likeness or performance in the context of generative AI. These comments sweep more broadly than those...
Submission to Congress in Wake of AI Concerns
In July at a Senate hearing about Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property, several Senators and witnesses floated the possibility of adopting a new federal right of publicity or a more limited "digital impersonation" or digital replica law. In light of these calls and the seriousness with which they are being taken, I prepared a two-pager...