Judge lets former NPR host David Greene's AI-voice suit against Google proceed past dismissal challenge

What happened

In an order filed October 23, 2026, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Shella Deen overruled Google's demurrer to all four claims in former NPR host David Greene's suit over the male AI host voice in NotebookLM's Audio Overviews feature. The case now proceeds; the ruling does not decide whether Greene's claims are true, and at this stage the court takes the complaint's allegations as true.

The claims

Greene alleges Google used recordings of his voice without permission to create the default male voice for Audio Overviews, then used that voice to market and sell the product, including through paid subscriptions and a December 2024 Spotify partnership. His four claims are a statutory right of publicity under California Civil Code section 3344, unfair competition, common-law misappropriation, and quasi-contract and unjust enrichment. He seeks damages, restitution, disgorgement, and injunctive relief.

What the judge said

Google argued the complaint shows only that Greene's journalism, not his voice, is well known. Judge Deen wrote that distinction is difficult to maintain for a radio broadcaster, since a radio host reaches the audience through the voice. She stressed the limits of the ruling: whether Google actually made the male host's voice from Greene's recordings or from another source that merely resembles him is a factual question. The court also rejected Google's argument that the Copyright Act preempts the claims, finding that a voice is not copyrightable and that the claims concern the program's outputs, not its inputs.

Status

Greene filed the case on January 23, 2026; after a federal court sent it back to state court on July 23, 2026, the demurrer was heard and this order followed. These remain allegations, not findings. The report also notes the federal NO FAKES Act, which would create a federal right over digital replicas of a voice, stalled in Congress in October 2026.