Digital replicas, what they are and who controls them.

A digital replica is an AI-made copy of a real person's face, voice or performance, realistic enough to stand in for them on screen or in audio. With written consent it is a licensed asset the performer gets paid for. Without consent it is a deepfake, and using one commercially is now against the law in much of the US.

What is a digital replica?

A digital replica is an AI-made copy of a real person's face, voice or performance, built from footage, photos or recordings of them. Done well, it can appear in video or audio the person never actually made: new scenes, new languages, new ads. You will also hear digital likeness, digital double or digital twin; the law mostly says digital replica, so this guide does too.

Studios use replicas to de-age actors, finish scenes, or dub a performance into other languages in the actor's own voice. AI productions and advertisers now use them to build whole performances. The same technology with no consent behind it is just a deepfake. The difference between the two is not technical. It is a signature.

The SAG-AFTRA digital replica rules

The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike put digital replicas at the center of the actors' contract, and the rules that came out of it are now the industry reference. A production that wants to create or use a replica of a union performer needs clear written consent, a description of how the replica will be used, and separate pay for that use. Consent for one project does not roll over to the next.

The 2026 TV/Theatrical agreement carried those protections forward, and agencies now handle replica terms as a normal part of a deal, the digital replica rider. If you represent talent, the practical rule is simple: no replica without a signed scope, and every new use goes back to the performer.

Digital replica laws

Legislatures picked up the same idea. California's AB 1836 requires estate consent before a digital replica of a deceased performer is used, and Civil Code 3344 covers the living. Tennessee's ELVIS Act protects a person's voice from AI cloning. The proposed federal NO FAKES Act would turn the digital replica into a national property right, with liability for people and platforms that use one without permission.

In Europe, the EU AI Act adds a transparency duty: AI content that shows real people has to be disclosed and marked as AI in machine-readable form. So a production using a replica has two jobs, permission and disclosure. For the state-by-state picture see our guide on deepfake laws.

Licensing a digital replica the right way

A clean replica deal has four parts. Written consent from the performer or the estate. A scope: which uses, which platforms, which territories, for how long. Payment tied to that scope. And a way to prove all of it later, because the question always comes months after the deal, from a platform, a brand's legal team or a court.

This is the work talicense's LICENSE side does for agencies and estates: the consent, the scope and the record in one place, so a replica becomes an asset you rent out on your terms instead of something you chase across the internet. How LICENSE works →

When a digital replica exists without consent

Most digital replicas of well-known people were never authorized. They show up as fake endorsements, AI covers of a singer's voice, or whole performances the person never gave. Each one is likeness misuse, and the response is the same as for any deepfake: find every copy, preserve evidence that holds up, then take them down or turn them into a license.

talicense runs that loop for agencies and estates: we search video, image, audio and ad platforms for a talent's face and voice, and document each hit with a timestamped, tamper-evident record. See how PROTECT works → For what the law lets you claim, start with using someone's likeness without permission.

Common questions

What is a digital replica in simple terms?

An AI-made copy of a real person's face, voice or performance that can appear in content the person never actually made.

Is a digital replica the same as a deepfake?

Same technology, different paperwork. A digital replica is made and used with the person's written consent; a deepfake of a real person is the unauthorized version.

Do actors get paid when their digital replica is used?

Under SAG-AFTRA rules, yes. Creating and using a replica of a union performer requires written consent and separate compensation for each use.

Can an estate license a digital replica of a deceased performer?

Yes, and in California AB 1836 makes estate consent a legal requirement before a deceased performer's replica is used.

Sources

Primary legislation and authoritative references. Laws change; confirm the current text and its application with qualified counsel.

General information, not legal advice. Likeness and image rights vary by country. Confirm specifics with qualified counsel.