Protection of the Voice & AI – Comment on the Decision of the Paris Court of Appeal on 17 October 2025

Paris Court of Appeal on 17 October 2025

The facts involved a journalist who made controversial public comments about the physical appearance of an artist. A few months later, a well-known French singer-songwriter released a song which included, without authorization, 33 seconds of the original interview of the journalist, with his actual voice, used at several moments in the song and synchronized in the video clip.

The Paris Court of Appeal handed down its ruling on 17 October 2025 in which:

• it recognized that a person’s voice constitutes an attribute of his/her personality, protected by the French Civil Code given the fact that the journalist’s voice was identifiable;
• it stressed that the use of the voice was neither necessary for artistic expression nor proportionate to the intended purpose; and
• the unauthorized use of the voice exceeded the limits of artistic freedom of expression and infringed the journalist’s rights over his voice.

This decision is interesting not only because it confirms the protection of the voice, but also considers that its use without authorization exceeds the limits of freedom of expression/creation.