Tennessee's ELVIS Act: how it protects your voice from AI clones

The short version

• The ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024) made voice, whether real or simulated, part of every individual's property right under Tennessee law.
• You can bring a civil action against someone who knowingly makes your voice or likeness available to the public without authorization, and against distributors of tools whose primary purpose is producing a specific person's voice or likeness without authorization.
• It has been in effect since July 1, 2024.

What the law does

Tennessee has protected name, photograph and likeness since its Personal Rights Protection Act of 1984. The ELVIS Act renamed that law and expanded it. It defines "voice" as a sound that is readily identifiable and attributable to a particular individual, "regardless of whether the sound contains the actual voice or a simulation of the voice." That is what brings AI voice clones inside the law.

The Act now says every individual has a property right in the use of their name, photograph, voice or likeness "in any medium in any manner." It creates three kinds of civil liability:

• Knowingly using someone's name, photograph, voice or likeness to advertise or sell products or services, or for fundraising, without prior consent.
• Publishing, performing, distributing, transmitting or otherwise making available to the public someone's voice or likeness, knowing the use was not authorized.
• Distributing or making available an algorithm, software, tool or other technology whose primary purpose or function is producing a particular, identifiable person's photograph, voice or likeness, knowing that doing so was not authorized.

Where a record label or distributor holds an exclusive contract for someone's services as a recording artist, or an exclusive license to distribute their recordings, either the label or the artist can bring the action.

Who it protects

Every individual, not only celebrities. The rights continue after death. They belong exclusively to the heirs or assignees for 10 years after death, and then continue unless there is proof of two years of non-use for commercial purposes after that initial period. Under the amended law, the commercial availability of a recording or audiovisual work where the person is readily identifiable counts as use.

What it means for you

Musicians and singers: If someone releases a track using an AI clone of your voice without authorization, you, and in some cases your label, may be able to sue in Tennessee.

Actors and creators: The same protection applies to your likeness and photograph, not just your voice.

Developers and platforms: Offering a tool whose primary purpose is producing a specific real person's voice or likeness without authorization can create liability, if you know the output is unauthorized. General-purpose tools are not the target of that provision.

Estates: Heirs of artists can use the law to protect a late artist's voice, as long as the rights remain in use.

What it doesn't do

• It treats several uses as fair use, to the extent the First Amendment protects them: news, public affairs or sports broadcasts; comment, criticism, scholarship, satire or parody; portraying someone as themself in an audiovisual work, unless it is meant to and does create the false impression of an authentic recording; fleeting or incidental uses; and ads for those works.
• It is a Tennessee law. Whether it applies to a dispute with an out-of-state company depends on the facts and on which state's law a court applies.
• It does not ban AI voice technology or voice models used with permission.

Status and key dates

• March 7, 2024: Passed the General Assembly (HB 2091 / SB 2096).
• March 21, 2024: Signed by Governor Bill Lee as Public Chapter 588.
• July 1, 2024: In effect.
• Codified at Tennessee Code Annotated § 47-25-1101 and following.

Frequently asked questions

Does the ELVIS Act cover AI voice clones? Yes. The Act defines voice to include a simulation of a person's voice, so a readily identifiable AI clone is covered.

Can I sue a company that makes a voice cloning app under the ELVIS Act? Possibly. The Act creates liability for distributing technology whose primary purpose is producing a particular person's voice or likeness without authorization, where the distributor knows it is unauthorized. General tools with many legitimate uses are harder to fit within that rule.

Is parody of a singer's voice allowed under the ELVIS Act? Satire and parody are treated as fair use to the extent they are protected by the First Amendment. Courts decide close cases individually.

Who can enforce the ELVIS Act after an artist dies? The executors, heirs, assignees or devisees who hold the rights. The rights last at least 10 years after death and continue while they are in commercial use.

What you can do

• If you find an unauthorized clone of your voice, save links, dates and screenshots before asking for removal.
• Check your recording and management contracts to see who has the right to enforce, and talk to a Tennessee lawyer about your options.
• When licensing your voice for AI use, spell out the purposes, duration and approvals in writing.

Royall helps you keep a record of what you have and haven't consented to.

Sources

• Public Chapter 588 (2024), HB 2091 as enacted: https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/113/pub/pc0588.pdf
• HB 2091 as introduced: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/HB2091.pdf
• Office of the Governor, "Gov. Lee Signs ELVIS Act Into Law" (March 21, 2024): https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2024/3/21/photos--gov--lee-signs-elvis-act-into-law.html

Last verified: 2026-09-27

This is general information, not legal advice.