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United Kingdom

AI deepfakes: should the UK create a statutory personality right? Passing off and defamation limits, and key design questions on likeness thresholds, damages, endorsement risks and post‑mortem protection

Published on: 28 June 2024

Published by a Law360 reporter
Legal News
Article summary

Proposals by MPs to introduce a new form of 'personality right' in UK law

Plans by MPs to create a new ‘personality right’ in UK law intended to shield performers and public figures from AI-generated fake material may add little to what home-grown rules already provide at present, according to commentators.

Hayley Brady, a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, observed that bolting image protections into the UK IP framework might not significantly extend coverage much beyond defamation and tort; yet, if it did, it would represent a marked shift towards protecting individuals.

In early May 2024, a cross-party set of MPs and peers issued a report urging Parliament to enact a swathe of new laws designed to rein in artificial intelligence, prioritising the protection of creative workers from generative AI programmes.

Among the recommendations was a call for government to establish a ‘personality right’ explicitly guarding an artist’s voice, image, name and likeness against misappropriation and false endorsement.

Currently, individuals can seek redress under English common law for misuse of these attributes via passing off, but there remains no standalone intellectual property right that specifically and effectively protects them. And the...

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