IP / Creative · HB 4875
Right of Publicity — AI Digital Replicas
Right of Publicity Act Amendment — AI Digital Replicas
- Public Act
- PA 103-0880
- Effective
- August 9, 2024
- Enforced by
- Private right of action under the Illinois Right of Publicity Act (§ 40)
- Verified
Extends the Illinois Right of Publicity Act to prohibit distributing sound recordings or audiovisual works containing an unauthorized AI-generated digital replica of a person's voice or image.
HB 4875 closed a gap in one of Illinois’ oldest privacy instruments. The Right of Publicity Act already protected a person’s identity from commercial appropriation; the amendment makes explicit that an AI-generated replica of a voice or image counts as that identity. The remedy structure is what gives it teeth: a $1,000 statutory floor is trivial, but the alternative — actual damages plus the infringer’s profits — scales with the commercial value of the misuse.
The exceptions matter as much as the prohibition. News, public affairs, documentary, satire, and commentary are carved out, which keeps the statute clear of the First Amendment problems that have sunk broader deepfake laws elsewhere. For a marketing team, the practical line is simple: expressive and journalistic uses are protected; selling something with someone’s synthetic likeness is not.
What it requires
- Do not distribute a sound recording or audiovisual work containing an AI digital replica of a person's voice or image without that person's consent.
- Rely on the news, documentary, satire, and commentary exceptions only where they genuinely apply.
- Obtain and retain consent before any AI-generated likeness enters commercial content.
Who is covered
Anyone who distributes commercial audio or audiovisual content in Illinois — labels, studios, advertisers, platforms — and, as rights-holders, the individuals whose voice or image is replicated.
What the exposure is
$1,000 floor, or actual damages + profits
A statutory floor of $1,000 per violation, but plaintiffs may instead elect actual damages plus the defendant's profits — which in commercial AI-cloning cases routinely reaches five to seven figures. Attorney fees and punitive damages are also available.
Key dates
- August 9, 2024 Signed as PA 103-0880 — effective immediately
If this applies to you
- Obtain explicit written consent before any AI-generated voice, image, or likeness goes into commercial content.
- Train marketing and creative teams on the Right of Publicity Act's AI amendments.
- Document the news, documentary, or satire exception with legal-review sign-off where relied upon.
- Maintain provenance metadata for every AI-generated talent likeness in production.
Primary sources 2
- Bill text HB 4875 (103rd GA) — Full Bill Text
- Public Act Public Act 103-0880 — Full Text (PDF)
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