Creates penalties for likenesses altered or created by artificial intelligence being used for commercial gain; establishes a private right of action for the unlawful dissemination of still or video images generated by artificial intelligence.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8721
IN SENATE
January 7, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to establishing priva-
cy and commercial rights for likenesses altered using artificial
intelligence
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section
2 50-h to read as follows:
3 § 50-h. Right of publicity; digitization. 1. For purposes of this
4 section:
5 a. "depicted individual" means an individual whose name, voice, signa-
6 ture, still or video image, or likeness is used on or in products,
7 merchandise, or goods, or for purposes of advertising or selling, or
8 solicitation of purchase of, products, merchandise, goods, or services.
9 b. "digitization" means the use of software, machine learning, artifi-
10 cial intelligence, or any other computer-generated or technological
11 means, including adapting, modifying, manipulating, or altering a real-
12 istic depiction.
13 c. "individual" means a natural person.
14 2. a. Any person who uses a depicted individual whose name, voice,
15 signature, still or video image, or likeness has been created or altered
16 by digitization, in any manner, on or in products, merchandise, or
17 goods, or for purposes of advertising or selling, or soliciting
18 purchases of, products, merchandise, goods, or services, without prior
19 consent from the depicted individual shall be liable for any damages
20 sustained by the person or persons injured as a result thereof.
21 b. In any action brought under this section:
22 i. the person who violated this section shall be liable to the injured
23 party or parties in an amount equal to the greater of two thousand
24 dollars or the compensatory damages suffered by the injured party or
25 parties, as a result of the unauthorized use, and any profits from the
26 unauthorized use that are attributable to such use and are not taken
27 into account in computing the compensatory damages.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14249-01-5
S. 8721 2
1 ii. in establishing profits under this subdivision, the injured party
2 or parties shall be required to present proof only of the gross revenue
3 attributable to the unauthorized use, and the person who violated this
4 section is required to prove their deductible expenses.
5 iii. punitive damages may also be awarded to the injured party or
6 parties.
7 c. For purposes of this subdivision:
8 i. it shall not be a violation of paragraph a of this subdivision if
9 the work is a play, book, magazine, newspaper, or other literary work;
10 musical work or composition; work of art or other visual work; work of
11 political, public interest, educational or newsworthy value, including
12 comment, criticism, parody or satire; audio or audiovisual work, radio
13 or television program, if it is fictional or nonfictional entertainment;
14 or an advertisement or commercial announcement for any of the foregoing
15 works.
16 ii. it shall not be a violation of this section if the use of a name,
17 voice, signature, still or video image, or likeness occurs in connection
18 with any news, public affairs, or sports program or account, regardless
19 of format, medium or means of transmission, or any political campaign.
20 iii. it shall not be a violation of this section if the use is of a
21 name, voice, signature, still or video image, or likeness in a commer-
22 cial medium solely because the material containing the use is commer-
23 cially sponsored or contains paid advertising or product placement, or
24 includes within it a use in connection with a product, article of
25 merchandise, good, or service. Rather, it shall be a question of fact
26 whether or not the use of the depicted individual's name, voice, signa-
27 ture, still or video image, or likeness was so directly connected with
28 the commercial sponsorship or with the paid advertising or product
29 placement as to constitute a use for which consent is required under
30 this subdivision.
31 iv. works identified pursuant to this paragraph shall not violate this
32 section, regardless of the medium or means of transmission.
33 d. In relation to a violation of paragraph a of this subdivision, if a
34 work that is protected under paragraph c of this subdivision includes
35 within it a use in connection with a product, article of merchandise,
36 good, or service, this use shall not be exempt under paragraph c of this
37 subdivision, notwithstanding the unprotected use's inclusion in a work
38 otherwise exempt under paragraph c of this subdivision, if the claimant
39 proves that this use is so directly connected with a product, article of
40 merchandise, good, or service as to constitute an act of advertising,
41 selling, or soliciting purchases of that product, article of merchan-
42 dise, good, or service by the depicted individual without prior consent
43 for the use under paragraph a of this subdivision from the person or
44 persons specified in subdivision four of this section.
45 3. The rights recognized under this section are property rights, free-
46 ly transferable or descendible, in whole or in part, by contract,
47 license, gift, or by means of any trust or any other testamentary
48 instrument. In the absence of an express transfer in a testamentary
49 instrument of the depicted individual's rights in their name, voice,
50 signature, still or video image, or likeness, a provision in the testa-
51 mentary instrument that provides for the disposition of the residue of
52 the depicted individual's assets shall be effective to transfer the
53 rights recognized under this section in accordance with the terms of
54 that provision. The rights established by this section shall also be
55 freely transferable or descendible by contract, license, gift, trust, or
56 any other testamentary instrument by any subsequent owner of the
S. 8721 3
1 depicted individual's rights as recognized by this section. Nothing in
2 this section shall be construed to render invalid or unenforceable any
3 contract entered into by a depicted individual during their lifetime by
4 which the depicted individual assigned the rights, in whole or in part,
5 to use their name, voice, signature, still or video image, or likeness.
6 4. The consent required by this section shall be exercisable by the
7 person or persons to whom the right of consent, or portion thereof, has
8 been transferred in accordance with subdivision three of this section,
9 or if no transfer has occurred, then by the person or persons to whom
10 the right of consent, or portion thereof, has passed in accordance with
11 subdivision five of this section.
12 5. Subject to subdivisions three and four of this section, the rights
13 under this section of an individual dying intestate shall be distributed
14 under the laws of intestate succession, and the rights and remedies of
15 this article may be exercised and enforced by a person or persons who
16 possess at least a fifty-one percent interest of the individual's rights
17 under this section. Such persons shall make a proportional accounting
18 to, and shall act at all times in good faith with respect to, any other
19 person in whom the rights being enforced have vested.
20 6. If any depicted individual does not transfer their rights under
21 this section by contract, or by means of a trust or testamentary instru-
22 ment, and there are no surviving persons as described in subdivision
23 five of this section, then the rights set forth in subdivision two of
24 this section shall terminate.
25 7. a. Any person claiming to be a successor in interest to the rights
26 of a depicted individual under this section or a licensee thereof may
27 register that claim with the secretary of state on a form prescribed by
28 the secretary of state and upon payment of a fee, which the secretary of
29 state shall set by rule. The form shall be verified and shall include
30 the name and date of death of the depicted individual, the name and
31 address of the claimant, the basis of the claim, and the rights claimed.
32 A successor in interest to the rights of a depicted individual under
33 this section or a licensee thereof shall not have a cause of action for
34 a use prohibited by this section that occurs before the successor in
35 interest or licensee registers a claim of the rights.
36 b. Upon receipt and after filing of any document under this section,
37 the secretary of state shall post the document along with the entire
38 registry of persons claiming to be a successor in interest to the rights
39 of a depicted individual or a registered licensee under this section
40 upon the secretary of state's internet website.
41 c. Claims registered under this subdivision shall be public records.
42 8. An action shall not be brought under this section by reason of any
43 use of a depicted individual whose name, voice, signature, still or
44 video image, or likeness has been created or altered by digitization
45 occurring after the expiration of forty years after the death of such
46 individual.
47 9. Nothing in this section shall apply to the owners or employees of
48 any medium used for advertising, including, but not limited to, newspa-
49 pers, magazines, radio and television networks and stations, cable tele-
50 vision systems, billboards, and transit advertisements, by whom any
51 advertisement or solicitation in violation of this section is published
52 or disseminated, unless it is established that the owners or employees
53 had actual knowledge by prior notification of the unauthorized use of
54 the depicted individual's name, voice, signature, still or video image,
55 or likeness as prohibited by this section.
S. 8721 4
1 10. Nothing in this section shall apply to a person that offers a
2 service that displays, offers for sale or license, sells or licenses a
3 work of art or other visual work, or audiovisual work, to a user,
4 provided the terms of such sale or license do not authorize such user to
5 engage in acts that constitute a violation of this section.
6 11. The provisions of this section are in addition to, but shall not
7 supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity.
8 12. This section shall apply to the adjudication of liability and the
9 imposition of any damages or other remedies in cases in which the
10 liability, damages, and other remedies arise from acts occurring direct-
11 ly in this state. For purposes of this section, acts giving rise to
12 liability shall be limited to the use, on or in products, merchandise,
13 goods, or services, or the advertising or selling, or soliciting
14 purchases of, products, merchandise, goods, or services prohibited by
15 this section.
16 13. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, or to
17 enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C. § 230 confers on an interactive
18 computer service for content provided by another information content
19 provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230.
20 § 2. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 52-e to
21 read as follows:
22 § 52-e. Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publica-
23 tion of an image created by digitization. 1. Any person depicted in
24 still or video image created or altered by digitization, regardless of
25 whether or not the original still or video image was consensually
26 obtained, shall have a cause of action against an individual who, for
27 the purpose of harassing, annoying or alarming such person, disseminated
28 or published, or threatened to disseminate or publish, such still or
29 video image, where such image:
30 a. was taken when such person had a reasonable expectation that the
31 image would remain private; and
32 b. was disseminated or published, or threatened to be disseminated or
33 published, without the consent of such person.
34 2. In any action commenced pursuant to subdivision one of this
35 section, the finder of fact, in its discretion, may award injunctive
36 relief, punitive damages, compensatory damages and reasonable court
37 costs and attorneys' fees.
38 3. This section shall not apply to the following:
39 a. the reporting of unlawful conduct;
40 b. dissemination or publication of an image made during lawful and
41 common practices of law enforcement, legal proceedings or medical treat-
42 ment;
43 c. images involving voluntary exposure in a public or commercial
44 setting; or
45 d. dissemination or publication of an image made for a legitimate
46 public purpose.
47 4. Any person depicted in a still video or image created or altered by
48 digitization which is disseminated or published without the consent of
49 such person and where such person had a reasonable expectation that the
50 image would remain private, may maintain an action or special proceeding
51 for a court order to require any website that is subject to personal
52 jurisdiction under subdivision five of this section to permanently
53 remove such still or video image; any such court order granted pursuant
54 to this subdivision may direct removal only as to images that are
55 reasonably within such website's control.
S. 8721 5
1 5. a. Any website that hosts or transmits a still or video image
2 created or altered by digitization, viewable in this state, taken under
3 circumstances where the person depicted had a reasonable expectation
4 that the image would remain private shall; and
5 b. Such still or video image is hosted or transmitted without the
6 consent of such resident of this state, shall be subject to personal
7 jurisdiction in a civil action in this state to the maximum extent
8 permitted under the United States constitution and federal law.
9 6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be
10 commenced the later of either:
11 a. three years after the dissemination or publication of an image; or
12 b. one year from the date a person discovers, or reasonably should
13 have discovered, the dissemination or publication of such image.
14 7. Nothing herein shall be read to require a prior criminal complaint,
15 prosecution or conviction to establish the elements of the cause of
16 action provided for by this section.
17 8. The provisions of this section are in addition to, but shall not
18 supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity.
19 9. If any provision of this section or its application to any person
20 or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other
21 provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect
22 without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the
23 provisions of this section are severable.
24 10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, or to
25 enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C. § 230 confers on an interactive
26 computer service for content provided by another information content
27 provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230.
28 11. For purposes of this section, "digitization" means the use of
29 software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other compu-
30 ter-generated or technological means, including adapting, modifying,
31 manipulating, or altering a realistic depiction.
32 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
33 have become a law.
