Is Legal Consent Needed To Make Digital Replicas Of Dead Artists? All We Know About California's New AI Law

California's new legislation, Assembly Bill 1836, mandates that consent from the estates of deceased performers is required before creating digital replicas using AI.

By Sakina Kaukawala

Published on Sep 01, 2024 | 03:37 PM IST | 42.4K

AI Illustration (via Getty Images)

On August 31, 2024, the California state Senate passed Assembly Bill 1836 (AB 1836), a significant piece of legislation governing the use of deceased performers' likenesses in AI-created digital replicas as per Variety.

The bill is now awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom's signature. This law requires that the estates of deceased performers be contacted before using their likenesses in digital recreations of TV shows, video games, and other media.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has been a strong advocate for AB 1836. In a statement, the union praised the bill's passage and protecting the rights of deceased performers and their estates.

"For those who would use the digital replicas of deceased performers in films, TV shows, video games, audiobooks, sound recordings and more, without first getting the consent of those performers’ estates, the California Senate just said NO," according to SAG-AFTRA.

SAG-AFTRA stated that AB 1836, along with a related bill, Assembly Bill 2602 (AB 2602), which strengthens consent requirements for living performers, represents a significant step forward in protecting performer rights in the age of generative artificial intelligence.

AB 1836's passage comes just four days after AB 2602, which was also approved by the California state Senate. Both bills reflect SAG-AFTRA's ongoing efforts to strengthen performers' protections in an ever-changing digital landscape. The union sees these legislative changes as very important in response to the growing use of AI in media production.

"AB 1836 is another win in SAG-AFTRA's ongoing strategy of enhancing performer protections in a world of generative artificial intelligence," according to the union. The legislation is intended to supplement the protections already included in SAG-AFTRA's master TV and film contracts, which were revised following a four-month strike last year.

During an April hearing on AB 1836, Douglas Mirell, a partner at Greenberg Glusker, cited several high-profile cases in which AI was used to recreate deceased performers with the permission of their estates. Mirell referenced:

Oliver Reed: After Reed died during the filming of Gladiator in 2000, AI technology was used to finish his role.

Paul Walker: Following Walker's death in 2015, artificial intelligence was used to complete scenes for Furious 7.

Peter Cushing: He died in 1994, and was digitally recreated for the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Carrie Fisher: Three years after her death in 2016, artificial intelligence was used to digitally reanimate Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Mirell argued that these examples show the feasibility and necessity of obtaining consent for such uses. “In each of these four instances, permission to use the voice and/or likeness of these deceased performers was sought and obtained from the families or other representatives of their respective estates,” according to him.

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