What a likeness contract must cover
A digital likeness is not a photograph with a longer shelf life; it can produce performances the person never gave. Contracts need to reflect that. Define scope: which products, campaigns and media, and whether new scripts or scenes may be generated or only the recorded performance edited. Set a term and territories. Specify payment for creation and for each use or period. Give the person approval over new material where the use is sensitive. State who holds the face or voice model, where it is stored, who can access it, and that it is deleted when the term ends. Exclude competitor categories and topics the person would object to.
Unions, the ELVIS Act and sound-alikes
Performer unions moved first. SAG-AFTRA's 2023 television and theatrical agreement requires clear, informed consent with a reasonably specific description of the intended use before a digital replica is made or used, and in most cases payment for its use; if you hire union talent, check the terms of whichever agreement covers your production, commercials included. Tennessee's ELVIS Act, in force since 1 July 2024, extends the right of publicity to voice and targets unauthorised AI replicas. Imitation is no escape route: in Midler v. Ford in 1988, a US appeals court held that deliberately imitating a famous singer's voice in an advert was actionable. Look-alikes raise the same problem.
Face and voice data under GDPR
In the EU and the UK, a person's image and voice are personal data. Building a face or voice model from them can create biometric data, and biometric data processed to identify someone is special category data under GDPR Article 9, which needs explicit consent or another narrow exception. Consent under GDPR can be withdrawn at any time and must be as easy to withdraw as to give, which sits awkwardly inside a commercial contract. Separate the two: a commercial licence for use of the likeness, and a data protection basis for processing it, with a written plan for the model and for live assets if consent is withdrawn.
Withdrawal, minors and the end of a term
Plan the exit before the start. The contract should say what happens if the person withdraws consent, dies, becomes involved in a scandal or joins a competitor: which assets come down and how fast, which may run to the end of their media booking, and when the model is deleted. Keep a register of every asset that uses each likeness, so a withdrawal can be carried out in days rather than discovered piecemeal. Minors need parental consent and extra caution, and some uses should be ruled out entirely. The studio keeps provenance for every asset, including the model that made it, which helps compile that register and trace each asset a withdrawal affects.
Updated 25 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current text with your legal team before relying on it.