Tentative ruling keeps ex-NPR host David Greene's AI voice-appropriation suit against Google alive

A California state judge issued a tentative ruling overruling all four of Google's demurrer claims in David Greene's lawsuit alleging Google used the former NPR host's voice without permission in an AI tool. The tentative ruling, issued by Judge Shella Dean of Santa Clara County Superior Court ahead of a contested hearing on October 21, keeps alive what observers describe as a first-of-its-kind AI voice-appropriation case.

The ruling tests legal standards for using a person's voice and identity in AI tools without consent, and comes amid a growing line of voice-cloning disputes, including interim relief granted in India against AI voice cloning of singer Asha Bhosle and Japanese court rulings recognizing voice as protected by publicity rights.