Tokyo court grants legal protection to human voices in AI clone case

A Tokyo court has granted legal protection to the human voice in a groundbreaking case involving a renowned Japanese anime voice actor. The Tokyo District Court's decision on Wednesday marked the first acknowledgment of the right to one's voice in Japan. The plaintiff, Kenjiro Tsuda, a voice actor known for his distinctive baritone in characters like Kento Nanami from "Jujutsu Kaisen," sued TikTok over the unauthorized use of an AI clone of his voice in over 180 videos.

Tsuda argued that the anonymous operator of the TikTok account "Nanami" unlawfully profited by attracting viewers with his voice narrating urban legends and paranormal phenomena. Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi emphasized that the human voice is symbolic of individual personality, akin to one's portrait, and considered the unauthorized use with an obvious intention to capitalize on Tsuda's commercial appeal as an infringement of publicity rights.

Despite the defendant's claim that the videos used AI-generated voice distinct from Tsuda's, the court dismissed the actor's demand that all the videos using his voice be deleted, as the account had already been closed.

This ruling comes amid growing concerns among Japanese voice actors about the AI cloning of their trademark voices in anime. The case follows similar incidents, such as OpenAI's decision to halt the use of Scarlett Johansson's voice in ChatGPT after she deemed it "eerily similar" to her own. Additionally, Oscar-winning actors Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey recently signed deals with ElevenLabs, a voice-cloning company, to allow their AI technology to replicate their voices.