Japanese voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda sued TikTok over a video that appeared to use AI to imitate his voice, and the Tokyo District Court issued a verdict on the 30th. (Photo taken by Kenjiro Tsuda x)
On the 30th, Japan's Tokyo District Court issued a judgment related to generative AI imitation, finding that the unauthorized use of a performer's voice may infringe on his right to image under certain circumstances. However, the lawsuit filed by the famous voice actor Tsuda Kenjiro of "Juju Kaisen" to ask TikTok to delete related videos was still dismissed because the anonymous account involved in the case had deleted the video on its own during the litigation. "AFP" pointed out that this case is considered to be Japan's first lawsuit seeking to protect personal voices and fight against AI imitation.
Agence France-Presse reported that the case involved an anonymous TikTok account that had posted a number of videos discussing urban legends, supernatural phenomena and conspiracy theories. The narration used a voice similar to that of Kenjiro Tsuda and was suspected to be generated by AI. The account once had more than 200,000 subscribers, and its monthly income may exceed 500,000 yen (approximately NT$101,000). TikTok maintains that the relevant voice is just an ordinary male voice, and whether it is similar to Tsuda is subjective.
Tokyo District Court Chief Judge Aya Takahashi said that the unauthorized use of a performer's voice can constitute an infringement of publicity rights if the purpose of the use is to exploit the commercial appeal of the voice. She also noted that voices, like portraits, can become part of a person's identity.
Sound can be protected by publicity rights, video deletion still causes lawsuit to be dismissed
However, Aya Takahashi said that TikTok is no longer obliged to delete the relevant videos because the anonymous account removed the videos on its own a few months after the lawsuit began. Tsuda's lawyer Hirano Kei therefore described the case as "making both sides look like they won" in the end.
In response to the verdict, Tsuda Kenjiro's appointed lawyer Hirano Kei bluntly told the media after the verdict was announced that the verdict "ultimately made both sides seem to have won." The legal community is worried that although the judgment has established the legal status of the "right to voice" in legal theory, in practice, as long as the infringer deletes his account during the trial of the lawsuit, the platform and the embezzler can escape unscathed, which may leave the victim with no way to claim compensation.
This lawsuit has affected the collective anxiety of the Japanese voice actor community. Before the verdict, voice actor Yuko Sasaki, executive director of the Japan Actors Federation (Nippon Haikuren), which represents the industry, emphasized to AFP: "A voice actor's voice is a talent honed through years of rigorous training and practice. It is an asset that we have invested a lot of time and money to develop."
Senior voice actor Shimada Toshiya, who has dubbed "Broly" in "Dragon Ball" and actively initiated the "NO MORE Continuous Generative AI" initiative, bitterly stated that if the judicial ruling finally frees the commercial plagiarism of generative AI, the endless wave of voice copying on social platforms "will completely destroy the entire Japanese voice actor industry" and will make all young voice creators lose hope for the future. ("MUJAN" is the Japanese word for "MUJAN", which means unauthorized use without consent.)
