AI Likeness Rights Management: A Plain Guide With Templates
October 4, 2026
How to manage face, voice and digital replica rights: the five parts, free incident log and license register templates, and what to ask software providers.
Royall publishes this guide. Descriptions of other companies come from their own public pages, accessed October 4, 2026.
Quick answer
AI likeness rights management means keeping track of who a person is, what uses of their face or voice they approved or refused, who holds permission and on what terms, and what happened when someone used their likeness without permission. A folder and two spreadsheets are enough for most individuals and small teams. Software helps when the number of people, licenses or incidents grows.
What are the five parts of likeness rights management?
| Part | Question | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Who is the person, and who can act for them? | ID evidence, representation documents |
| Consent | What did they agree to, and refuse? | Dated consent rules, signed releases |
| Authorization | Does a proposed use fit the rules? | Approval records per request |
| Monitoring and enforcement | Is the likeness appearing outside approved uses? | Incident log, takedown correspondence |
| Audit trail | Can everyone show what happened, and when? | Versions, dates, who approved |
What templates should I use to track likeness rights?
These are the full templates other Royall guides link to. Copy them into any spreadsheet.
Sheet 1: Incident log (unauthorized uses)
| Date found | URL | Platform | Account | Face, voice or both | Authorized? | Evidence saved? | Route used | Report filed (date, ticket) | Status | Next step |
|---|
Sheet 2: License register (approved uses)
| Licensee | Contact | Asset (which recordings) | Approved use | Depth (existing footage, new output, training) | Term start | Term end | Territory | Exclusive? | Pay | Approval rights | Deletion at end? | Signed copy location |
|---|
Sheet 3: Consent rules (one row per use type)
| Use type (ads, dubbing, games, audiobooks, training, political, other) | Allowed? | Conditions | Last changed |
|---|
Set a calendar reminder for every "Term end" date. Keep the sheets in the protection folder described in our face and voice guide.
Which laws affect how long likeness rights last and how biometric data is kept?
Status as of October 4, 2026:
- Rights after death. California Civil Code §3344.1 (as amended by AB 1836, effective January 1, 2025) requires consent for digital replicas of deceased personalities and is enforceable for 70 years after death; New York Civil Rights Law §50-f runs 40 years. Tracker
- Tennessee ELVIS Act. Rights belong exclusively to heirs or assignees for 10 years after death, then continue unless there are two years of commercial non-use. Your register is evidence of use. Tracker
- Illinois BIPA. Companies must tell people in writing and get a written release before collecting faceprints or voiceprints, and must have a retention policy. If you store biometric data for others, this matters. 740 ILCS 14/15 · Tracker
- California SB 1111 (signed September 30, 2026, effective January 1, 2027) adds digital replicas to California's right of publicity statute for living people. Tracker
What kinds of software help manage likeness rights?
Different providers start from different parts of the five:
- Monitoring and enforcement first: Loti (FAQ), Vermillio TraceID (plans), Ceartas (pricing).
- Licensing first: Vermillio's TraceID licensing platform (licensing); ActorHub for AI advertising (actorhub.ai); the ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace for iconic voices (ElevenLabs).
- Consent and authorization first: Royall (see below).
- Provenance: C2PA Content Credentials for proving which files are originals (C2PA).
These are starting points, not exclusive choices. The full list with prices is in our alternatives guide.
What should I ask a rights management provider?
Use our 10-question vendor checklist and add:
- Can I export every record in a standard format?
- Can I use another monitoring provider or licensing marketplace at the same time?
- Can a third party verify an approval without seeing my data?
- What happens to my records and licenses if I leave?
Where Royall fits
Royall starts with identity verification and consent: a person records their own face and voice, signs one consent written for where they live, and chooses which uses they allow. Apps that integrate Royall Herald check those choices before each use, and Sentinel handles reported fakes and takedown notices. Licensing is offered from time to time under separate terms (Terms §1.5); when a license completes, Royall's published fee is 5%, with no fee to list. Because this guide tells you to ask providers about training and deletion, here are Royall's answers.
How Royall handles your data What Royall's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy say today (both effective September 15, 2026):
- Royall's own models. Royall may use your likeness to train Royall-operated AI models to improve its services, for example its likeness detection (Terms §1.4).
- Licensing to partners. Royall may offer you opportunities to license your recordings to Royall partners, including for AI training, under separate terms and with your consent (Terms §1.2 and §1.5; Privacy Policy). Those licenses must bar the partner from using your likeness to train models for deepfake generation, sexual content, harassment, infringement or any illegal purpose (Terms §1.5).
- Revoking consent stops future licenses. It cannot pull your likeness out of data sets already shared with third parties under earlier licenses (Terms §1.3; Privacy Policy).
- Retention. Biometric data is kept as long as needed to provide the services you request, or up to three years after your last interaction, unless you revoke consent (Privacy Policy).
- Access and deletion. Ask at privacy@royall.ai (Privacy Policy).
- Apps that check permission through Herald or Connect get a yes or no answer. Royall says partners using Connect do not receive your recordings (royall.ai).
Key takeaways
- Rights management is a process, not a product.
- Three sheets (incidents, licenses, consent rules) cover most needs.
- Post-mortem rights and biometric rules affect what you keep and for how long.
- Providers start from different parts; check that you can export and leave.
- Keep an audit trail whether or not you use software.
FAQ
What is AI likeness rights management? The system for tracking identity, consent, approved uses, unauthorized uses and evidence around a person's face, voice or digital replica.
Do I need software? No. Software becomes useful as people, assets and transactions grow.
How long should I keep license records? At least as long as the license plus any period in which claims could be brought. Ask a lawyer about your state's limits; estates may need records for decades.
Can I use several providers at once? Usually. Watch for exclusivity clauses.
Sources
- California Civil Code §3344.1 · New York Civil Rights Law §50-f
- Tennessee Public Chapter 588 (ELVIS Act)
- 740 ILCS 14/15 (BIPA)
- California SB 1111 bill history
- Loti AI FAQ · Vermillio TraceID · TraceID licensing · Ceartas · ActorHub · ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace
- Royall Terms · Royall Privacy Policy
Related guides
- How to choose a digital likeness licensing platform
- AI likeness consent API
- How talent agencies can protect artists from AI cloning
This is general information, not legal advice.
onwards,
The Royall team