TLDR: A federal judge in New York has ruled that voice actors Paul Lehrman and Linnea Sage can proceed with key state-level claims, including breach of contract, right of publicity, and consumer protection, against AI startup Lovo Inc. The actors accuse Lovo of creating and selling AI ‘clones’ of their voices without proper authorization after they provided samples for what they believed was research. While most federal trademark and copyright claims were dismissed, the ruling highlights the growing legal challenges in the generative AI industry concerning identity rights and unauthorized use of personal attributes.
New York, NY – A significant legal battle in the burgeoning artificial intelligence sector saw a pivotal development this week, as a federal judge allowed voice actors Paul Lehrman and Linnea Sage to move forward with their lawsuit against AI voiceover generator Lovo Inc. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, presiding over the Southern District of New York, issued a ruling on Thursday, July 10, 2025, that permits the actors to pursue state-level claims, despite largely dismissing their federal trademark and most copyright infringement allegations.
The lawsuit, filed last year, alleges that Lovo created and sold unauthorized ‘clones’ of Lehrman’s and Sage’s voices. The actors, both members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, claim they were initially approached on the freelance platform Fiverr to provide voice samples for what they were told were ‘research projects’ or ‘test scripts for radio ads.’ They later discovered that Lovo was marketing and selling AI-generated versions of their voices to subscribers, with Lehrman’s voice being sold as ‘Kyle Snow’ and Sage’s as ‘Sally Coleman.’ The complaint asserts that these were not synthetic creations or composites, but direct copies of their specific voices, a claim supported by Lovo’s own past statements about its product’s ability to ‘reproduce’ voices ‘practically indistinguishable from the ‘real’ voice.’
Judge Oetken’s decision represents a mixed outcome for the plaintiffs. He determined that Lehrman and Sage had not demonstrated protectable trademarks for their voices and that Lovo’s ‘imperfect mimicry’ did not infringe their federal copyrights. However, the judge emphasized that this ‘does not mean they are without remedy.’ Crucially, he allowed the actors to proceed with claims under Sections 50 and 51 of the New York Civil Rights Law, which protect an individual’s right of publicity concerning their name, image, and likeness. Additionally, claims for breach of contract and violations of state consumer protection law were permitted to advance. The actors were also granted leave to amend their complaint regarding Lovo’s alleged copyright infringement through the use of their voice recordings for AI training.
In his ruling, Judge Oetken acknowledged the profound implications of the case, stating, ‘The case involves a number of difficult questions, some of first impression. It also carries potentially weighty consequences not only for voice actors, but also for the burgeoning AI industry, other holders and users of intellectual property, and ordinary citizens who may fear the loss of dominion over their own identities.’ This sentiment underscores the broader legal landscape where tech companies face increasing scrutiny for using copyrighted or personal content to train generative AI systems.
Steve Cohen of Pollock Cohen, the attorney representing the actors, hailed the decision as a ‘spectacular victory,’ expressing confidence that ‘a jury will come to the same conclusions as Judge Oetken and hold big tech accountable.’ Lovo, in a previous court filing in January, had sought to dismiss the case, arguing that the actors’ ‘story and concern do not relate to Lovo’s interactions with named Plaintiffs and fails to state an actionable claim,’ and that the actors’ voices were ‘not popular’ with ‘negligible’ sales.
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This case, Lehrman v. Lovo Inc., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:24-cv-03770, is part of a growing wave of litigation challenging the unauthorized use of creative works and personal attributes in the development of AI technologies. The ruling highlights the critical role of state-level right of publicity laws in addressing the unique challenges posed by AI voice cloning, particularly in the absence of comprehensive federal protections for such identity rights.
