Federal judge says dubbing artist AI lawsuit can move forward

A federal judge in New York allowed the lawsuit to move forward from two narrator artists, accusing their voices of being stolen by an AI voice startup.

The judge dismissed artists Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage’s claims that their voices were subject to federal copyright.

However, the artist’s claims of breach of contract and deceptive business practices, as well as separate copyright claims that the sound is improperly used as part of AI training data, will continue to move forward.

California-based Lovo Inc. demands that the case be completely dismissed. The company has not responded to a request for comment from the BBC.

The judge’s decision came after artists opposed a large number of cases by AI companies, alleging abuse of their work to train AI models.

The artist’s attorney Steve Cohen called the decision a “spectacular” victory for his clients, saying he was confident that a future jury would “hold large-scale technology responsibility.”

Lovo’s lawyers called the artist’s allegations “kitchen sink method”, saying the artist’s claims failed to make viable demands on the company.

Artist, a couple living in New York City, A proposed class action lawsuit filed in 2024 After learning about the so-called voice cloning, it is sold through Lovo’s text-to-voice platform Genny.

The couple claimed that anonymous employees contacted them separately for their voiceover work through the online free market Fiverr.

Lehrman is paid $1,200 (about £890). Sage received $800 (almost £600).

In the message shared with the BBC, an anonymous client can be seen saying that Lehrman and Sage’s voices will be used for “academic research purposes only” and “test scripts for radio advertising,” respectively.

The anonymous messenger said that the dubbing “will not be disclosed externally, but will only be consumed internally.”

A few months later, while driving near her New York City home, the couple listened to podcasts about the ongoing strike in Hollywood and how artificial intelligence (AI) affects the industry.

This episode features a unique hook – an interview with an AI-powered chatbot equipped with text-to-voice software. It was asked how it thought the use of AI would affect Hollywood’s work.

But when it speaks, it sounds like Mr. Reilman.

“We need to pull the car over,” Lehrman told the BBC in an interview last year. “Ironically, AI is coming from the entertainment industry, and it’s my voice talking about the potential destruction of the industry, it’s really shocking.”

Back home, the couple discovered the sound with the names of Kyle Snow and Sally Coleman used by paid Lovo subscribers.

Later, they discovered that Sage’s so-called clone provided fundraising videos for the platform, while Lehrman’s clone was used in ads on the company’s YouTube page.

The company eventually removed the sound, saying neither sound is popular on the platform.

The case will now move forward in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.