May 16, 2023
Beijing – Infringement: Draft Rules to Set Boundaries for AI Use
Singaporean singer Stephanie Sun is trending again on Chinese social media platforms. It’s not her new album or concert, but an artificially intelligent version of her voice that’s making headlines.
In recent weeks, a series of music videos featuring Son’s “voice” have gone viral after being uploaded to Bilibili.com, a popular Chinese video-sharing platform. Incredibly, none of the songs were sung by Sun himself, but were produced by AI software.
One of them, the video for Fa Ru Xue (with hair like snow), which has Sun’s voice digitally inserted instead of the original Chinese singer Jay Chou, has sold over 1.6 million copies on the platform since its release. Played more than once. Posted on April 14th.
In addition to generating Sun’s voice, the software also replicated the voices of other famous singers such as pop diva Faye Wong and Singapore’s JJ Lin.
Many viewers were shocked by the AI-generated songs, commenting that the idol’s voice was too difficult to distinguish from the AI version, and some endorsing technology to enjoy their favorite music in a different way. There were people too.
But legal experts have expressed concerns about possible violations.
“These AI-generated songs allegedly violate the copyrights of singers, lyricists and composers, but some AI fanatics play the songs for free just for fun. It claims to be doing so,” said Liu Bin, a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property litigation. Beijing Chinese law firm.
“It’s hard for producers of AI-generated songs to explain that they didn’t make the song for profit, because uploading videos to a major streaming platform like this could legally be considered a business activity. Because there is,” he said.
Another lawyer in Beijing, Zhao Chuanling, said using AI to simulate a singer’s voice without permission and mass-sharing it falls under the definition of infringement under China’s copyright law.
“Furthermore, AI-generated songs may even be considered trademark infringement if the singer succeeds in trademarking through their unique or recognizable voice,” Zhao added.
Both attorneys noted that music videos featuring AI-generated voices may also infringe on the names, likenesses and voice rights of these singers.
Citing the Chinese Civil Code, Mr. Liu said that protection of voice is the same as protection of likeness, and no individual or organization can use information technology to degrade or tamper with another’s voice. said to mean.
“Voice is an individual right and, like Sun’s voice, a distinctive or recognizable tone even has business value,” he said. “Thus, using her voice without her permission could be a violation of rights.”
Experts say the practice of using celebrity names or imitating voices through AI can also mislead viewers and confuse the public, thus creating unfair competition. I added that there is.
AI-related products and services grew rapidly as ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by Open-AI, took the tech world by storm. These have improved the efficiency of people’s lives and work, but at the same time have created new problems.
China’s top internet regulator, the China Cyberspace Administration, issued a general opinion in April on the draft measures to address emerging AI services, aimed at regulating the application of new technologies and promoting their healthy development. started recruiting.
Zhao said he believed the draft was a quick response to the rule of law’s new industry and praised it for setting boundaries.
“For example, AI generation service providers must ensure that the data they use for training does not infringe the intellectual property or other legitimate rights of others, and the generated content must be annotated. It says there is,” he said.
The 21-article draft makes it clear that the country supports innovation, promotion, use and international cooperation on AI, but it also states that AI-generated products, including text, images, voice and video, will be used by people. It also emphasizes that action will be taken if rights are found to be infringed. Images, Reputation, Privacy, or Trade Secrets.
The administration stopped accepting solicitations on Wednesday.
So far, singers who have participated in AI-generated songs have not agreed to use their voices, but several musicians have expressed interest in the technology.
Canadian singer Grimes has openly welcomed people to use AI to imitate her voice for creative purposes, allowing creators to use her voice freely without penalty, according to a report by digital media product Shine. , operated by the Shanghai Daily, which said that the copyright fees from successful recordings would be split 50/50 with the creators.
The report also mentions Chinese rapper Chao Hong, affectionately known as Xiao Lao Fu, or “Little Tiger,” who is 48 years old on China’s Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo. It has 6,000 followers. Zhao said he is interested in learning how to leverage AI, adding that it will be difficult to create content in the future without AI.
