Arjun is finishing Night Ferry. Maya recorded its temporary narration. A vendor offers to reproduce her voice for new lines; another offers Nova, an invented voice with no identifiable real-person counterpart. Both use software. That does not make their permission questions the same.
Your task is to help Arjun identify the identity, check the applicable protections, and prepare a responsible release. This lesson is educational, not legal advice; a real production needs advice about its contracts, locations and uses.
A digital replica reproduces an identifiable real individual's voice, face or likeness. It may be built from a scan, a recording or other source material. Maya need not visit a scanning booth for Arjun's generated new lines to raise replica questions.
A wholly synthetic performer has no identifiable real-person counterpart. Nova is invented, rather than a substitute performance recognizable as Maya. Calling a file “synthetic” does not settle that question. Check what the output actually reproduces; legal and contractual definitions differ.
The vendor renames Maya's cloned voice Nova. Listeners still recognize Maya. A new product name does not turn a replica into an invented performer. Conversely, a general vocal style is not automatically an identifiable person's voice. Arjun needs provenance and an identity review, not a marketing label.
Training and identity are separate questions. Even a genuinely invented output does not prove its training material was licensed or that platform terms permit Arjun's planned use.
Reproduces Maya’s recognizable voice
No identifiable real-person counterpart
General style only; source unclear
Arjun checks whether Night Ferry is covered by the applicable SAG-AFTRA agreement. Union membership alone does not establish production coverage. Contract protections apply within their coverage; state rights may apply alongside them. On a non-covered production, the union contract is not automatically the rulebook.
“Neither” means a particular contract or identity statute may not apply to these facts. It is not a finding that nobody has rights or that the use is cleared.
Choose a performer type, then production coverage.
Replica + covered: investigate applicable contract consent and payment rules alongside identity law and other rights. Maya's voice remains hers to authorize within the relevant rules.
Replica + non-covered: the union agreement does not automatically supply protection. Investigate applicable state identity rights, the actual deal and other law; do not assume a protection gap clears the use.
Synthetic + covered: a real person's replica consent may not be the issue, but the 2026 agreement has synthetic-use obligations, including union notice and bargaining in specified circumstances. Check those provisions.
Synthetic + non-covered: no automatic TV/Theatrical contract protection. Check provenance, licenses, platform terms and applicable law; if an identifiable person emerges, revisit the classification.
This is an issue map, not an automated legal clearance. Coverage and jurisdiction require more facts than two selections.
For Maya's replica on a covered production, Arjun must address clear, informed written consent describing the intended use, plus the applicable compensation rules. A vague “all AI uses” sentence is not a reliable substitute for the agreement's requirements. Creation, use and later reuse need the checks the agreement specifies; exceptions and details matter.
Arjun describes the new narration and its context to Maya before proceeding. Owning her old audio file does not by itself authorize new words in her identity.
Compensation for covered replica work and residuals depend on the agreement, replica category and use. Residuals are additional contract payments for specified exploitation or reuse, not a universal royalty on every generated line. Arjun budgets the initial use and checks later uses separately.
When marketing requests a new trailer line, Arjun rechecks the scope and applicable payment rules before generating it. Fair pay is an ethical commitment even where a particular union formula does not apply.
The 2026 agreement expressly addresses replicas made without a separate scan and includes enforcement protections. It is not a blanket ban on every AI technique.
For the younger character in Night Ferry, Arjun must not use a minor's digital replica to depict nudity or simulated sexual activity under the covered agreement, including through aging up or de-aging. A permission form cannot override this contractual prohibition.
California AB 2602 concerns enforceability of certain digital-replica provisions in personal or professional services contracts. Description of intended uses and legal or union representation matter. It is not a general ban on AI voices or a nationwide permission system.
Tennessee's ELVIS Act adds voice to protected personal rights and addresses specified unauthorized uses and distribution. Exceptions, including protected expressive uses, matter. Arjun checks the applicable state's rules and facts rather than choosing whichever state's name sounds most protective.
The federal NO FAKES Act remains proposed legislation in the reviewed record. The 2026 Senate bill is S.4591; its committee progress does not make it enacted law. Arjun cannot rely on a proposed nationwide framework as today's clearance. Verify current status before a real release.
US protection remains a patchwork. The absence of one comprehensive identity rule does not erase other applicable federal, state or contractual duties.
If Night Ferry reaches Europe, national personality rights can protect identity, while EU data and digital rules may add duties. These are overlapping frameworks, not one uniform European performer contract.
The Digital Services Act concerns online-service responsibilities, including mechanisms for reporting illegal content; it does not itself grant Arjun the performer's consent. The AI Act has transparency duties for specified synthetic content and deepfakes, with scope and exceptions. Disclosure does not replace permission.
First establish whose identity and source material are involved. Then confirm production coverage and relevant jurisdictions. Record specific permissions, intended uses, compensation and applicable residual arrangements. Check the vendor's training, retention and reuse terms; restrict access to replica assets.
Before release, apply required disclosures and platform rules, and keep a record of what was approved. If the use changes, revisit consent and pay before generating or publishing. Informed consent, transparent rules and fair pay are a durable ethical baseline; a checklist does not guarantee legal clearance.
Open an unresolved issue and decide which evidence Arjun needs.
Arjun's first question is “Whose identity?” His second is “Which rules cover this use?” A replica and an invented performer can trigger different obligations; covered productions and state laws can overlap. Before releasing Night Ferry, document permission, pay and platform requirements, and recheck any changed use.
Educational, not legal advice. Rules and bill status can change; consult the current sources and qualified counsel for a real production.
Digital replica: a digital reproduction of an identifiable real person's voice, face or likeness; exact definitions vary.
Synthetic performer: an invented digital performer with no identifiable real-person counterpart; contractual definitions may be narrower.
Consent: informed permission for a described creation or use, in the form the applicable rules require.
Residuals: additional payments for specified exploitation or reuse under an applicable agreement.
Personality rights: legal protections for aspects of personal identity, such as name, voice or likeness; scope varies by jurisdiction.
You are about to begin the assessment. Select the best answer for each question.
Completed with at least 80% on the five-question assessment. Educational, not legal advice.
US-focused creator education • Night Ferry production review