What is a digital replica?
A digital replica is a computer-generated, highly realistic voice or likeness that people would readily identify as a particular person’s. California and Tennessee have specific rules: one limits contract clauses that let a replica stand in for a performer, the other protects the voice.
Also known as: AI replica, Digital double, 数字复制品
“Digital replica” is the term used in section 927 of the California Labor Code, added by AB 2602.1 It is less about the technology than about contracts: whether someone else may be licensed to generate a person’s voice and likeness and use it in their place.
What does California’s AB 2602 require?
AB 2602 is California state law and became law on September 17, 2024.1 It covers new performances fixed on or after January 1, 2025: a contract clause that allows a digital replica to replace work the person would otherwise have performed in person is unenforceable if it does not describe the intended uses of the replica reasonably specifically and the person was neither represented by a lawyer in the negotiation nor covered by a union’s collective agreement that addresses digital replicas; a missing description does not make the clause unenforceable where the uses are consistent with the terms of the contract and the fundamental character of the work as recorded or performed.1
What does Tennessee’s ELVIS Act protect?
Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, signed on March 21, 2024, adds the voice to the name, image and likeness the state’s personal rights law already protected, and is aimed at AI misuse of a person’s voice.2
Which rules apply to AI-made voices and likenesses in China?
China’s rules, and what a celebrity can do, are set out on Celebrities & artists, under “What can a celebrity do when AI copies their face or voice?”.
Further reading
- Social media and personal brand management for celebrities: Celebrities & artists
Notes
- AB-2602 Contracts against public policy: personal or professional services: digital replicas.
- PHOTOS: Gov. Lee Signs ELVIS Act Into Law