AI Frontier Institute

Mississippians' Right to Name, Likeness and Voice Act; enact.

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Mississippi House Bill 1504 would enact the 'Mississippians' Right to Name, Likeness and Voice Act' (Sections 75-99-1 through 75-99-13, Mississippi Code of 1972), establishing a statutory property right for every individual in their own name, likeness, and voice. Under Section 75-99-5, these rights are treated as intellectual property, are freely transferable and descendible, and survive death for at least ten years, terminating only upon two consecutive years of non-commercial use after that period or the death of all rights-holders. Section 75-99-3 defines key terms including 'digital depiction,' 'digital voice replica,' 'personalized cloning service,' and 'digital technology,' explicitly covering artificial intelligence and machine learning. Section 75-99-5 further requires that any agreement authorizing AI-generated depictions or voice replicas for new performances be in writing, with the individual represented by counsel, and that minors' agreements be court-approved, unless governed by a collective bargaining agreement. Section 75-99-7 imposes liability on anyone who distributes a personalized cloning service or publishes an unauthorized digital depiction or voice replica without the rights-holder's consent, with statutory damages of $50,000 per violation for cloning services and $5,000 per violation for individual depictions or replicas, plus actual damages, profits, punitive damages under Section 11-1-65, and attorney's fees. A disclaimer that the content was unauthorized is explicitly not a defense under Section 75-99-7(2)(d). Section 75-99-9 provides a First Amendment balancing defense. Section 75-99-11 addresses general commercial use of name, voice, or likeness without written consent, allowing injunctive relief, actual damages, treble damages for bad-faith violations, and attorney's fees, with a four-year statute of limitations. Section 75-99-13 exempts student-athletes covered under Sections 37-97-101 et seq., telecommunications and information service providers for third-party content, and advertising media owners and employees. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.

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