Compliance

What is Likeness rights?

Also called Right of publicity, Image rights.

In one sentence

Likeness rights are a person's legal control over the commercial use of their face, voice and identifiable characteristics. Generating a recognisable version of a real person without permission engages them regardless of how the image was produced.

Explanation

This is the area where AI video creates genuine legal exposure rather than platform risk. A generated presenter who does not resemble anyone real is unproblematic; a generated presenter who resembles a specific person, living or recently dead, is a publicity-rights matter in most jurisdictions and increasingly a criminal one where the content is sexual or fraudulent.

Voice is covered as well as face in a growing number of places, and the direction of travel across the US, EU and UK is towards more protection rather than less. Consent has to be specific: permission to film someone is not permission to synthesise them.

The common mistake

Assuming a public figure is fair game. Public figures generally have stronger publicity rights, not weaker ones, because their likeness has demonstrable commercial value.

Where this shows up in PikoReels

In PikoReelsResponsible AI useWhere we think the line sits, stated plainly.

Related

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