New federal law locks deceased persons' likenesses under 70-year copyright-style monopoly
S. 1367 — NO FAKES Act of 2025 · Filed by Christopher Coons (D-DE) · 13 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 9, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The NO FAKES Act creates a new federal property right in a person's voice and visual likeness, allowing individuals (or their heirs) to control and license AI-generated digital replicas of themselves. It imposes liability on anyone who creates, distributes, or sells unauthorized deepfakes or deepfake-creation tools, with statutory damages ranging from $5,000 to $750,000 per violation. Online platforms must register with the Copyright Office, remove flagged content, and implement repeat-infringer policies to avoid liability.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is creating and enforcing a new intellectual property right in voice and visual likeness, with statutory damages and safe harbors for online platforms. It is fundamentally a property-rights and liability statute, not a consumer protection or privacy measure, despite framing around protecting individuals.
What the text implies
- Post-mortem right lasts up to 70 years after death (renewable in 5-year increments), creating a long-tail monopoly on deceased persons' likenesses that may restrict historical, biographical, and educational uses without explicit licensing.
- The definition of 'digital replica' includes 'materially altered' versions of authorized performances, potentially capturing legitimate remixes, edits, and transformative works that do not involve AI generation.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
estates and heirs of deceased public figures; talent agencies and rights management firms; online platforms (via safe harbor if compliant)