Lawyers say OpenAI could have real problems with Scarlett Johansson

OpenAI could face legal consequences for creating a ChatGPT voice that sounds a lot like Scarlett Johansson – whether the company did it intentionally or not. And the fact that the CEO of OpenAI referenced these similarities? This only makes things worse, intellectual property lawyers say The edge.

“She can take several steps, but the case law supports her position,” says Purvi Patel Albers, a partner at the law firm Haynes Boone, which specializes in trademarks and copyright.

After introducing updates to ChatGPT last week, OpenAI sparked comments and headlines pointing out that the voice of its AI assistant – named Sky – sounded a lot like Johansson, particularly his performance as the AI ​​assistant in the film. Her.

Albers says Johansson and other celebrities can invoke right of publicity laws, which protect a person’s identifying characteristics from being used without their permission. “If you misappropriate someone’s name, likeness or voice, you risk violating their right of publicity,” Albers says.

Celebrities have already won cases against similar-sounding voices in commercials. In 1988, Bette Midler sued Ford for hiring one of her backup singers for a commercial and asking him to “sound as much like Bette Midler’s record as possible.” Midler had refused to participate in the advertisement. The same year, Tom Waits sued Frito-Lay for voicejacking after the company’s advertising agency asked someone to imitate Waits for a parody of his song in a Doritos commercial. Both cases, filed in California courts, were decided in favor of the celebrities. Midler and Waits’ victories “have clear implications for AI voice clones,” says Christian Mammen, a partner at Womble Bond Dickinson who specializes in intellectual property law.

To win in these cases, celebrities usually have to prove that their voice or other identifying features are unregistered trademarks and that by imitating them, consumers could connect them to the product being sold, even if they do not. are not involved in it. That means identifying what’s “distinctive” about one’s voice — which may be easier for a celebrity who played an AI assistant in an Oscar-winning film.

What makes things difficult is the lack of federal right of publicity laws. Instead, laws are established state by state, and not every state has one in effect. Each state also designs its likeness laws differently; for example, New York recognizes that every individual has the right to control the commercial use of personal characteristics such as their name, photo, voice, and even signature. This right extends to a deceased person, whose estate must give prior consent for the use of a computer-generated replica. California, where OpenAI is headquartered, does not mention in its law the use of digital replicas such as AI-generated voices. But California protects a living person’s voice from being used in commercial activities without their consent. It states that using a person’s “identity,” whether a voice, face or name, could violate these protections.

“The Ninth Circuit held that a celebrity with a distinctive voice could turn against someone who used a voice impersonator to create the impression that the celebrity had endorsed the product or was speaking in the advertisement,” Mammen said.

Johansson didn’t sue OpenAI, but she did hire a lawyer. On Monday, Johansson said she had hired legal counsel to draft letters to OpenAI demanding an explanation of how Sky’s voice was created. Johansson said OpenAI had already contacted her about the assistant and she had declined the company’s request.

OpenAI says it didn’t intend for Sky’s voice to sound like Johansson’s, but that doesn’t necessarily protect the company. Albers says that while OpenAI didn’t explicitly mention Johansson, consumers were already pointing out the similarities. The comment began while OpenAI’s demo of ChatGPT-4o was in progress, and Saturday Night Live I even joked about it.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, may have complicated things further. Altman posted the word “she” on X while the company’s event was taking place last week, apparently referring to the demo’s similarity to what was depicted in the film. Albers says this could fuel the public’s opinion that the voice is meant to imitate Johansson.

OpenAI has removed Sky’s voice for the time being, which could ease Johansson’s concerns. But Albers says OpenAI could stoke Johansson’s anger if they put Sky’s voice back and it still sounds like the actor’s.

“The question we have to ask ourselves is: why on earth did OpenAI do this? Albers said. “(Johansson) is a known advocate for protecting her rights, so she will not hesitate to contradict them.”