What Is the Right of Likeness?

The right of likeness (also known as image rights or portrait rights) is a legal doctrine that protects an individual’s ability to control the commercial use of their physical appearance. Under this right, no one may use another person’s image, face, or physical likeness for commercial purposes — advertising, merchandising, endorsement, product promotion — without their informed consent. The right of likeness is a component of the broader category of personality rights and is recognized in varying forms across most legal jurisdictions.

In the AI digital identity context, the right of likeness has become the most commercially significant personal right. The $975 million Khaby Lame deal was fundamentally a transaction for the right to commercially use Khaby Lame’s likeness — specifically, the right to create an AI-powered replica of his face, expressions, and physical appearance for livestream commerce. This extension of traditional likeness rights into AI-generated synthetic media represents an unprecedented expansion of the doctrine. Previously, likeness rights governed photographs and video of real performances. Now they must govern AI-generated content that creates entirely new performances using a person’s appearance.

Key Characteristics

  • Consent requirement: Commercial use of a person’s likeness requires their informed, specific consent — a principle that becomes critical when that likeness is being replicated by AI.
  • Commercial exploitation focus: The right of likeness primarily applies to commercial uses; editorial, newsworthy, and artistic uses may be exempt depending on jurisdiction.
  • Jurisdictional variation: The scope and enforceability of likeness rights varies significantly across jurisdictions, creating challenges for globally deployed digital twins.
  • Survivability: In some jurisdictions, likeness rights survive death and can be enforced by heirs, creating long-term asset value for digital twin estates.
  • AI extension: Courts and legislators are actively expanding the right of likeness to cover AI-generated replicas, not just recordings or photographs of actual appearances.

Why It Matters

The right of likeness is the legal foundation upon which the entire AI digital identity asset class is built. Every digital twin deal is, at its core, a licensing transaction for the right to commercially use a person’s likeness via AI. The strength and scope of likeness rights in each jurisdiction directly determines the enforceability of these deals and the creator’s ability to prevent unauthorized replication. As AI-generated likeness becomes more prevalent, strengthening and standardizing likeness rights is essential for market integrity.

See also: Personality Rights, AI Likeness, Right of Publicity, Consent Management, Biometric Sovereignty