[Article / Personality rights, etc.] On the legal protection of voiceprints (Michihiko Otsuka, Patent, May 2025)
更新日：10月9日
Article information
Article type: Publication review
Display and classification checked: 2026-09-30
Categories: Other Japanese law / Copyright / Unfair competition law
Topics: AI and intellectual property / Personality and publicity rights
Published on this website: 2026-09-29
[Article / Personality rights, etc.] On the legal protection of voiceprints (Michihiko Otsuka, Patent, May 2025)
1. Personality rights and “voiceprint rights”
Under current law, portrait rights are recognized on the basis of the right to pursue happiness under Article 13 of the Constitution.
2. Publicity rights
The Supreme Court’s Pink Lady decision recognized the right to use exclusively the customer-attracting power of portraits and the like.
3. Copyright Act and Unfair Competition Prevention Act
AI training at the development stage (Copyright Act, Article 30-4) and performers’ rights (rights of sound and visual recording, etc.) alone cannot sufficiently prevent imitation of the “quality” or “style” of a voice.
Responses under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act are considered with reference to Korean examples.
4. Conclusion
Recognizing voiceprints as a “personal interest” and establishing “voiceprint rights” would bridge the gap to property protection through publicity rights.
In the generative AI era, to supplement the limitations of copyright law, expansion of personality rights and flexible application of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, or express provisions through legislative amendment, are called for.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7510486991591981056/
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Updates and corrections
This log starts on 30 September 2026. Display and classification checks are distinct from a review of the legal analysis.
2026-09-30 — Presentation update: added the article type, this change log and a link to consultation options. The existing article text was preserved.
2026-10-01 | Name notation: replaced verified Japanese-script personal names with Roman-letter forms in this English article and its navigation. Legal analysis and original publication date unchanged.
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2026-10-10: Aligned reciprocal related-article links and published URLs. The original article text was not changed.
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