Tokyo court rules your voice is protected, in Japan's first ai voice-clone case

On 30 September the Tokyo District Court ruled that a person's voice, like their likeness, is protected by publicity rights when someone uses it to exploit its commercial appeal. Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi said a voice is "as symbolic of one's personality as portraits are". It is believed to be the first time a Japanese court has found that the human voice qualifies.

The case

Kenjiro Tsuda, known as Nanami in Jujutsu Kaisen and Overhaul in My Hero Academia, sued TikTok's operator over an anonymous account that posted 188 ai-narrated urban-legend clips in a voice resembling his. The account had about 210,000 followers and earned an estimated ¥500,000 to ¥750,000 a month. TikTok argued it was a "generic male voice" and that the ai was trained on a friend's voice.

The court dismissed Tsuda's takedown demand because the videos had already been deleted. So the ruling sets the principle without ordering any remedy. His lawyer said it "made both sides look victorious".

Why it matters

Voice cloning is the cheapest trick in the box, and until now the people being copied had little to point at. This ruling treats a voice as part of someone's identity, not a generic commodity, in a major market. It follows guidance from an expert panel at Japan's Justice Ministry in August saying voices should be protected like images. Enforcement remains unsettled.