Chris Mammen Discusses IP Uncertainty Around Celebrity Deepfakes

At this point, Silicon Valley and Hollywood are in an uneasy standoff over the use of celebrity AI likenesses. Movie and TV studios zealously protect their intellectual property, but the commercial potential of leveraging deepfakes of well-known performers remains tantalizing.

Womble Bond Dickinson San Francisco Office Managing Partner and AI Practice Team Co-Founder Chris Mammen spoke to Puck about the IP challenges surrounding AI-generated celebrity likenesses. Mammen frames the core issue as legal uncertainty around AI-generated likenesses, emphasizing how difficult it is to draw clear boundaries between permissible use and infringement. For example: An AI generates a digital figure that looks like Tom Cruise. Is that acceptable use, or unlawful appropriation? Mammen said the legal line is murky.

He also points to layered ownership complications, particularly the distinction between an actor’s personal likeness and the intellectual property rights tied to characters they have portrayed. This creates unresolved questions—for example, whether an actor can license their likeness independently when it evokes a character owned by a studio (e.g., costume, props, or recognizable traits). From an IP standpoint, what separates a digital likeness of Harrison Ford from one of Indiana Jones?

More broadly, Mammen underscores that the industry is far from reaching a settled legal framework. Rather than expecting a definitive solution from courts or legislation in the near term, he predicts an extended period of trial and error. In his view, AI and IP law will evolve as different approaches are tested and refined over time.

Click here to read the full article in Puck.