In an effort to provide its musical artists some protection from AI-generated deepfakes of their voices, the state of Tennessee recently enacted ELVIS seeking a cure. Specifically, Tennessee passed the Ensuring Likeness, Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, which goes into effect July 1 of this year. The ELVIS Act replaced Tennessee’s existing rights law (the Personal Rights Protection Act, PRPA), which only protected a person’s name, photograph, or likeness and limited that protection to only barring use in advertising. PRPA also added postmortem rights in an effort to protect the state’s most famous resident, Mr. Presley himself. Interestingly, unique to Tennessee and two other states, the protected rights under the act are characterized as property rights as opposed to rights of publicity, which is more typical.Continue Reading ELVIS Adds (His) Voice to the Protection of Artists Against AI-Generated Deepfakes
Cybersecurity
Third Circuit Upholds Federal Cyberstalking Law
By Lee S. Brenner & Shantel H. Asada on
Posted in Cybersecurity, Social Media
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently upheld the federal cyberstalking statute against a constitutional challenge. See United States v. Ho Ka Yung, 37 F.4th 70 (3d Cir. 2022). The Third Circuit narrowly construed the statute’s intent element to require an intent to make the victim fear death or bodily injury or to cause the victim distress through threats or intimidation.
According to the opinion, the case begins with Yung’s application to Georgetown Law. The admission interview went poorly, and Yung was rejected. In turn, Yung allegedly embarked on a cyber-campaign against the unsuspecting interviewer, including creating fake blog posts as the interviewer bragging about raping women and children, filing false reports accusing the interviewer of sexual assault, and impersonating the interviewer’s wife in online sex ads. After the FBI became involved, Yung was charged with cyberstalking.Continue Reading Third Circuit Upholds Federal Cyberstalking Law
Venable Expands Service Offerings for the Entertainment and Media Industry with the addition of Privacy and Cybersecurity Veteran Hemanshu Nigam
By Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam on
Venable is pleased to announce that Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam has joined the firm as a partner in the eCommerce, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Practice in its Los Angeles office. Mr. Nigam has nearly 25 years of experience in solving online security, privacy, and safety challenges facing celebrities, pro athletes, high-net-worth individuals, corporations, and start-ups, as well as government and law enforcement. He has extensive experience conducting end-to-end cyber assessments and protection and often provides counsel on cutting-edge online privacy and security issues. Mr. Nigam seeks justice for entertainment and sports professionals who are cyberstalked, hacked, or harassed, or who have fallen victim to other forms of online attacks.
Continue Reading Venable Expands Service Offerings for the Entertainment and Media Industry with the addition of Privacy and Cybersecurity Veteran Hemanshu Nigam