A district court in Tokyo issued a significant ruling on the legal status of human voices, determining they warrant protection comparable to publicity rights. The case centered on Kenjiro Tsuda, a prominent voice actor known for work on the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, who challenged an anonymous TikTok account that utilized artificial intelligence to replicate his distinctive baritone voice in a series of videos.
The account in question posted 188 videos featuring AI-generated narration about urban legends, occult topics, and conspiracy theories, accompanied by images resembling Tsuda’s anime character. The channel accumulated over 200,000 subscribers and reportedly generated substantial monthly revenue. Tsuda asserted that the voice used was unmistakably his own, while TikTok countered that the audio constituted a generic male voice with only superficial similarities to the actor’s actual voice.
Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi determined that the unauthorized use of a performer’s voice constitutes an infringement of publicity rights. The court established that voice protection applies when the purpose involves leveraging its commercial appeal, comparing a voice’s significance to a person’s identity as equivalent to that of a portrait. This marks the first instance in Japan where a court has explicitly extended publicity rights protection to an individual’s vocal characteristics in relation to AI-generated content.
While the court declined to order removal of the videos, noting they had been deleted shortly after the lawsuit commenced last November, the ruling carries substantial implications for Japan’s voice acting industry. Professionals in the field have expressed concerns that artificial intelligence technology poses a significant threat to their livelihoods and the industry’s sustainability. The verdict responds to growing anxieties among performers and represents a legal precedent addressing the intersection of artificial intelligence, voice rights, and entertainment industry protection in Japan.
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