Latest news with #LinneaSage
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Federal judge says voice-over artists' AI lawsuit can move forward
A federal judge in New York has allowed a lawsuit to move forward from two voice-over artists alleging their voices were stolen by an AI voice startup. The judge dismissed artists Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage claims that their voices were subject to federal copyright. But claims from the artists of breach of contract and deceptive business practices, as well as separate copyright claims alleging that the voices were improperly used as part of the AI's training data, will, however, move forward. California-based Lovo Inc. had asked for the case to be dismissed entirely. The company has not yet responded to the BBC's request for comment. The judge's decision comes after a flood of cases from artists against artificial intelligence companies alleging misuse of their work to train AI models. The artists' attorney, Steve Cohen, has called the decision a "spectacular" victory for his clients, saying he was confident a future jury will "hold big tech accountable". Lawyers for Lovo had called the artists' allegations a "kitchen sink approach" saying the artists' claims failed to make an actionable claim against the company. The artists, a couple living in New York City, filed a proposed class action lawsuit in 2024 after learning alleged clones of their voices were for sale via Lovo's text-to-speech platform Genny. The couple claim they were separately approached by anonymous Lovo employees for voice-over work through the online freelance marketplace Fiverr. Lehrman was paid $1200 (around £890). Sage received $800 (almost £600). In messages shared with the BBC, the anonymous client can be seen saying Lehrman and Sage's voices would be used for "academic research purposes only" and "test scripts for radio ads" respectively. The anonymous messenger said the voice-overs would "not be disclosed externally and will only be consumed internally". Months later, while driving near their home in New York City, the couple listened to a podcast about the ongoing strikes in Hollywood and how artificial intelligence (AI) could affect the industry. This episode had a unique hook – an interview with an AI-powered chatbot, equipped with text-to-speech software. It was asked how it thought the use of AI would affect jobs in Hollywood. But, when it spoke, it sounded just like Mr Lehrman. "We needed to pull the car over," Mr Lehrman told the BBC in an interview last year. "The irony that AI is coming for the entertainment industry, and here is my voice talking about the potential destruction of the industry, was really quite shocking." Upon returning home, the couple found voices with the names Kyle Snow and Sally Coleman available for use by paid Lovo subscribers. They later found Sage's alleged clone voicing a fundraising video for the platform –while Lehrman's had been used in an advertisement on the company's YouTube page. The company eventually removed the voices, saying both voices were not popular on the platform. The case is now set to move ahead in the US District Court in Manhattan.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Federal judge says voiceover artists AI lawsuit can move forward
A federal judge in New York has allowed a lawsuit to move forward from two voice over artists alleging their voices were stolen by an AI voice judge dismissed artists Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage claims that their voices were subject to federal claims from the artists of breach of contract and deceptive business practices, as well as separate copyright claims alleging that the voices were improperly used as part of the AI's training data, will, however, move Lovo Inc. had asked for the case to be dismissed entirely. The company has not yet responded to the BBC's request for comment. The judge's decision comes after a flood of cases from artists against artificial intelligence companies alleging misuse of their work to train AI artists' attorney, Steve Cohen, has called the decision a "spectacular" victory for his clients, saying he was confident a future jury will "hold big tech accountable". Lawyers for Lovo had called the artists' allegations a "kitchen sink approach" saying the artists' claims failed to make an actionable claim against the artists, a couple living in New York City, filed a proposed class action lawsuit in 2024 after learning alleged clones of their voices were for sale via Lovo's text-to-speech platform couple claim they were separately approached by anonymous Lovo employees for voiceover work through the online freelance marketplace was paid $1200 (around £890). Sage received $800 (almost £600).In messages shared with the BBC, the anonymous client can be seen saying Lehrman and Sage's voices would be used for "academic research purposes only" and "test scripts for radio ads" anonymous messenger said the voiceovers would "not be disclosed externally and will only be consumed internally". Months later, while driving near their home in New York City, the couple listened to a podcast about the ongoing strikes in Hollywood and how artificial intelligence (AI) could affect the episode had a unique hook – an interview with an AI-powered chatbot, equipped with text-to-speech software. It was asked how it thought the use of AI would affect jobs in when it spoke, it sounded just like Mr Lehrman."We needed to pull the car over," Mr Lehrman told the BBC in an interview last year. "The irony that AI is coming for the entertainment industry, and here is my voice talking about the potential destruction of the industry, was really quite shocking."Upon returning home, the couple found voices with the names Kyle Snow and Sally Coleman available for use by paid Lovo later found Sage's alleged clone voicing a fundraising video for the platform –while Lehrman's had been used in an advertisement on the company's YouTube company eventually removed the voices, saying both voices were not popular on the case is now set to move ahead in the US District Court in Manhattan.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Voice actors can pursue some claims over AI voiceovers, US court says
July 10 (Reuters) - A federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday that a pair of voice actors can move ahead with a lawsuit accusing AI voiceover startup Lovo of violating their rights by using their voices in its technology without permission. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken dismissed, opens new tab most of the federal copyright and trademark law claims in the lawsuit but denied Lovo's bid to dismiss claims that it violated the actors' publicity rights. Oetken also permitted the actors to amend their claim that Lovo's AI training infringed their copyrights. The case is part of a wave of lawsuits in which tech companies have been accused of misusing content including books, news articles and song lyrics to train generative AI systems. The actors' attorney, Steve Cohen of Pollock Cohen, called the decision a "spectacular victory" and said he was "confident that a jury will come to the same conclusions as Judge Oetken and hold big tech accountable." Spokespeople and attorneys for Lovo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. Plaintiffs Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage said in the proposed class action filed last year that they were approached on freelancer marketplace Fiverr to provide voiceover work for anonymous clients. Lehrman was allegedly told his voice would be used only for a "research project," while Sage was told her voice would be used only with "test scripts for radio ads." The actors said they later learned Lovo sold the use of Lehrman's voice to subscribers as "Kyle Snow" and Sage's as "Sally Coleman." According to the complaint, the company responded to a cease-and-desist letter by claiming that the actors' voices were "not popular" and that their sales were "negligible." Lovo asked the court in January to dismiss the case. "Plaintiffs continue to try to tell a tale filled with pathos and the woes of artificial intelligence," the company said in a court filing. "However, their story and concern do not relate to Lovo's interactions with named Plaintiffs and fails to state an actionable claim." Oetken concluded the actors were not entitled to trademark protection for their voices and that Lovo's "imperfect mimicry" of them did not infringe their copyrights. The judge, however, said the actors could file an updated complaint alleging Lovo's use of their voice recordings for AI training violated their copyrights. He also said the actors could advance their claim that Lovo violated their commercial rights in their voices under New York law. The case is Lehrman v. Lovo Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:24-cv-03770. For the voice actors: Steve Cohen of Pollock Cohen For Lovo: David Case and Michael Lazaroff of Rimon Law Read more: AI voiceover company stole voices of actors, New York lawsuit claims
