What is the ELVIS Act?
The ELVIS Act is a Tennessee law, in effect since 2024, that protects a person’s voice and likeness from unauthorized AI cloning. It was the first US state law to name a simulated voice as protected property.
ELVIS stands for Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with Elvis Presley’s films or tribute acts. It updated Tennessee’s older right-of-publicity law for the age of AI, and it applies to everyone, not only famous singers.
How does the ELVIS Act work?
The law bans cloning a person’s voice or likeness without permission, and it reaches further than most older rules.
- It covers a simulated voice, not only a real recording, so an AI imitation counts.
- It targets the tools and the platforms, not only the end user, so the company behind a cloning service can be liable.
- It protects everyone. Voice actors, session players, and unknown artists are covered, not only stars.
Why does the ELVIS Act matter for you?
It was the first law to treat your voice as something you own against AI. That set a template other states and the federal NO FAKES Act now follow.
- If your voice is cloned, you have a clear legal claim in Tennessee, a major music state.
- It signals where US law is heading, so artists everywhere should track it.
- It shows your voice can be a protected asset, which matters when you sign deals that involve it.
What the ELVIS Act does not cover
It is broad in scope but limited in reach.
- It is a state law, so it mainly bites when there is a Tennessee connection. It does not protect you everywhere.
- It still relies on you finding the clone and acting on it.
- It includes carve-outs for news, commentary, and other protected speech.
For one rule that works across the country, the proposed federal law is the bigger move.
What to do next
The ELVIS Act shows your voice can be protected property, though only with a Tennessee link for now. Nationwide coverage depends on federal law.
Read what is the NO FAKES Act? for the federal version, learn why you cannot simply trademark a voice, and see how can you protect your voice from AI? for steps you can take today.