United States of America: Act Revising laws related to use of name, voice, and likeness of individuals and penalties for unauthorised use (HB 513) was adopted by Legislature

On 6 May 2025, the Act Revising laws related to use of name, voice, and likeness of individuals and penalties for unauthorised use (HB 513) was adopted by the Montana Legislature and will be sent to the Governor. The Act establishes property rights over an individual’s name, voice, and visual likeness, applicable to Montana residents or individuals domiciled in the state at death. The Act introduces liability for distributing or publishing tools or technologies with actual knowledge that they are intended to produce unauthorised digital voice or visual depictions for commercial use. Such depictions are defined as computer-generated renderings that closely resemble an individual’s real voice or appearance. The rights are licensable, transferable, and descendible for 20 years after death. Civil liability includes actual damages and attributable profits, with claimants required to show only gross revenue from the unauthorised use. The Act exempts broadband internet access service providers and uses protected under the United States Constitution, including news reporting, commentary, criticism, satire, parody, scholarship, and uses that are fleeting or negligible. The Act will enter into force on 1 January 2026.