In recent legal development, a reality TV celebrity is seeking justice in the court against Reface, a European developer of a deepfake face swapping application. The celebrity alleges that the company has infringed his right of publicity by using his image and likeness without his consent or financial compensation.
The right to publicity, an often-controversial aspect of US law, includes an individual’s legal right to control the commercial use of his or her name, image and other aspects of their identity. The celebrity argues that Reface breached these rights with the unauthorized usage of his likeness.
A court in California weighing on this matter has decided not to dismiss the proposed class action. Such a decision denotes that, in the view of the court, the case possesses enough merit or substantive legal questions to warrant a trial. This is often a significant early development in many class action suits, as many cases can be dismissed at this stage for a variety of reasons, including lack of standing, or a failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
Though the celebrity’s identity is undisclosed, this case brings into focus once again the legal intricacies arising from rapidly advancing technologies like deep fake and artificial intelligence, especially regarding intellectual property rights, right of publicity and the potential for their abuse.
Details about this class action suit and its implications can be found here.