Tokyo court rules voice protected under publicity rights
A Tokyo District Court issued a landmark decision finding that a person's voice can fall within publicity rights protections in a case brought by voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda over AI-generated narrations on TikTok. The court said unauthorized use of a performer's voice can be an infringement when used to exploit commercial appeal, but it did not rule on whether Tsuda's rights were actually infringed and did not order deletions because the anonymous account had been deleted. The ruling dovetails with Japan justice ministry guidance and international legislative moves, and platforms said they will study the judgment.
A Tokyo court said voices can fall under publicity rights.
Context
A voice actor sued after many TikTok videos used an AI-like voice. The justice ministry…
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