What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
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Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#2This going to court will be the best outcome possible for society.
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#3If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications.
I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ?
I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#4If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications. I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ? I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
Surely there must be precedence here. This can't be the first time people hired sound-a-like voice actors for something.
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#5If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications. I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ? I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
> If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ?
It continues to baffle me that people formulate this issue as it just being about the similar voices as opposed to OpenAI's efforts to capitalize on ScarJo's likeness by making explicit references to ScarJo and her work, in combination with using a similar voice.
Obviously, it is not against the law to have a similar voice as someone. Obviously, it is against the law to capitalize upon another person's likeness without their permission. I don't understand why people pretend it's hard to distinguish between the two categories, it's not.
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#6If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications. I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ? I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
What if I look like a famous actor/actress or model? Should I not be allowed to act or model professionally?
Or if I sound like a famous singer, should I not be allowed to sing for profit?
What if my paintings have a similar style to a famous painter, should I not be allowed to paint for a living?
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#7If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications. I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ? I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
Surely there must be precedence here. This can't be the first time people hired sound-a-like voice actors for something.
Yes, and a case with a lot of similarity too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midler_v._Ford_Motor_Co.
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#8If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications. I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ? I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
No. Contrary to layperson belief, there is little new in deepfakes. People have been faking the image of celebs for many years decades (SNL) and faking their personality even further (Hustler v Falwell, Lohan v GTA). The porn industry has an entire genre dedicated to parodies of famous people and famous situations. And there are the professional celeb lookalikes. Every historical film involves someone trying to mimic a real person. Imagine if Winston Churchill's estate started going after every actor who has ever used "his" accent without permission. All of those are situations where the mimicry was done blatantly and openly. This is a case where the mimicry is contested at best. The only hope would be to somehow prove literal copying, her voice fed into that software.
And pity every other upcoming actor who looks/sounds vaguely similar to an existing famous person. Shall they be gagged, the very sound of their voice owned by someone else?
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#9If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications. I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ? I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
I will assume that imitating Reagan to sell X products (that are not insulting the to the memory of Reagan) would be "ok". But Reagan is dead, and I don't feel that using a voice similar to his (or Clinton's who's still alive) removes bread from their table.
If everyone deliberately starts using a voice 'like' Johansson's, or the image 'like' Johansson's, that would steal the bread from her table.
I don't know if there are laws/cases covering 'lookalikes' but it's kinda like that.
Re: What Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI Could Look Like in Court
#10If it goes to court, it will be an interesting case and may have big ramifications. I believe the person used was selected because she sounded like Scarlett. If guilty, will it be illegal for people sounding like famous people get voice work ? I have heard ads with people sounding like various US Presidents over the years, could doing that be illegal ?
No. Contrary to layperson belief, there is little new in deepfakes. People have been faking the image of celebs for many years decades (SNL) and faking their personality even further (Hustler v Falwell, Lohan v GTA). The porn industry has an entire genre dedicated to parodies of famous people and famous situations. And there are the professional celeb lookalikes. Every historical film involves someone trying to mimic…
Is literal copying a necessary element for a right of publicity claim? I don't think so, but I don't litigate them. I would think that OpenAI's conduct in referencing ScarJo and her body of work in relation to the voice would allow for a reasonable inference that they intended the public to believe it was ScarJo's voice, and not that of a similarly sounding voice actor?
from the article: "It doesn’t matter whether a person’s actual voice is used in an imitation or not, Rothman says, only whether that audio confuses listeners"
Do you have non-layman knowledge about these kinds of claims?