Comment by throwawaycities
2 years ago
Scarlett Johansson is apparently so devious she managed to get OpenAI to reach out to her to license her voice and likeness.
She even set up the CEO by having him directly negotiate with her, which I’m sure he also did with the alleged small voice actor. Then she perfected her scheme by having that same CEO publicly tweet “her” - timed with the release of the voice product - referencing JS’s movie of the same name where she voiced a computer system with a personality.
She even managed to get OpenAI to take down the voice in OpenAI’s words “out of respect” for SJ while maintaining their legal defense publicly that the voice was not based on hers.
Is it illegal to hire a voice actor that sounds like Darth Vader? No. Is it illegal to hire a voice actor that sounds like Her? No. Would it be appealing to have SJ voice act for them? Sure. Does that mean it's illegal for another voice actor to (according to some) sound similar to a character from a poplar movie? No. All of these things can be true together
The issue isn’t hiring a voice actor to imitate someone, that can be fine. The issue is what you can do with the recordings after you have them.
Making a YouTube instructional view on how to imitate voices that includes clips of a film for example would be fine. Reusing the exact sounds from that YouTube video in a different context and you’re in legal trouble.
Right, but making a YouTube instructional video on how to imitate voices, where you only use the imitation voice, is fine. Which is closer to what happened here it seems like.
Illegal?
It probably isn’t criminal, which is what you seem to be asking, although it very well might be depending on the facts.
More importantly, under the available facts JA likely has a claim for civil damages under one of more causes of action. Her claims are so strong this will likely end up with a confidential settlement in an undisclosed sum without even needing to file a lawsuit. If she does file a lawsuit, there is still greater than 90% likelihood OpenAI settles before trial. In that less than 3% chance the case proceeds to a verdict, then you’ll have your answer without having to make bad arguments on HN.
> In that less than 3% chance the case proceeds to a verdict, then you’ll have your answer without having to make bad arguments on HN.
From the HN guidelines: Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes.
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