OpenAI’s Sora bans public‑figure deepfakes but allows 'historical figures,' which includes deceased celebrities. That creates a practical carve‑out for lifelike, voice‑matched depictions of dead stars without estate permission. It collides with posthumous publicity rights and raises who‑consents/gets‑paid questions.
— This forces courts and regulators to define whether dead celebrities count as protected likenesses and how posthumous consent and compensation should work in AI media.
EditorDavid
2026.04.18
90% relevant
The film uses Kilmer’s estate‑authorized archival material and an AI avatar to ‘reanimate’ a deceased star for a central role, exactly the kind of case where studios and estates treat a dead performer as a permissible creative resource — the article documents estate cooperation, compensation, and the controversy that frames this practice as a loophole.
Steve Sailer
2026.01.01
60% relevant
Sailer’s suggestion that adults could increasingly stand in for children in media via digital/performative substitutes parallels the existing concern that platforms and providers carve out posthumous or 'historical' exceptions for using likenesses; both highlight how emerging media norms create loopholes around consent and estate/rights enforcement.
EditorDavid
2025.10.05
100% relevant
OpenAI told PCMag it 'allows the generation of historical figures,' while Mashable/PCMag show Sora producing realistic videos of deceased celebrities.