On October 21, Alcon Entertainment filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in Los Angeles against Elon Musk and Tesla. The complaint alleges that during the Robotaxi event, held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, “AI-generated images replicating scenes from ‘Blade Runner 2049′” were used without proper authorization.
One of the key points in the lawsuit highlights the appearance of “a Ryan Gosling double” in one of the images used.
The legal document describes this action as a “malicious and bad faith tactic,” arguing that Musk and Tesla sought to capitalize on the ‘Blade Runner 2049’ brand to promote Tesla vehicles and attract global attention to their Robotaxi event.
Prior to the event, Musk reportedly requested permission from Alcon Entertainment to use scenes from the movie, but the request was denied. According to the lawsuit, the refusal was due to Musk’s “politicized, arbitrary, and sometimes incendiary behavior,” which has at times led to hate speech.
Accusations of misleading promotion
Alcon also accuses the event organizers of “false endorsement,” suggesting an unauthorized connection between Tesla and the film production company.
The production company, which is currently in talks with other automakers regarding Amazon’s upcoming series “Blade Runner 2099,” argues that it did not want its image associated, either explicitly or implicitly, with Tesla, as it could affect these negotiations.
The lawsuit claims that the financial magnitude of the misuse was substantial.
It is worth noting that Elon Musk has repeatedly referenced the original 1982 ‘Blade Runner’ film, suggesting that it served as inspiration for the design of the Tesla Cybertruck.
A similar case: OpenAI and Scarlett Johansson
This case bears similarities to an incident earlier this year when OpenAI sought permission from Scarlett Johansson to use her voice for a virtual assistant. After the actress declined, accusations arose that the assistant, named “Sky,” sounded eerily similar to Johansson’s voice.
Johansson hired a lawyer to challenge OpenAI, though the company denied intentionally replicating her voice. The voice was later removed, and OpenAI issued a statement saying that “AI-generated voices should not deliberately mimic the distinctive voice of a celebrity.”
As of now, Elon Musk has not publicly commented on the lawsuit via his X account.
By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director
Image credit: http://www.freepik.com