Tuesday 13 October 2026 4:19 am  |  Updated:  Monday 12 October 2026 5:50 pm

Do you own your voice? As AI voice tech booms, UK law needs an answer

By: Julianne Althoff

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AI voice tech like ElevenLabs is booming, yet the legal framework around whether a voice can be ‘owned’ remains murky, writes film and TV lawyer Julianne Althoff in today’s Notebook

The murkiness of voice ownership

The British-founded AI voice company ElevenLabs recently reached a $22bn valuation, doubling its value since earlier this year. It is now among the world’s most valuable AI businesses, which is a remarkable rise that shows just how quickly speech synthesis has moved from technological curiosity to something approaching the mainstream.

But while the technology may be racing ahead, the law is struggling to keep up and, as companies like ElevenLabs continue to gather momentum, so too does the raft of concerns across the creative industries about what increasingly sophisticated voice cloning means for performers.

Earlier this year, 80 actors, including Nicola Coughlan and Hugh Bonneville, signed an open letter demanding stronger protection against AI voice cloning. Their concern is understandable. An actor’s voice can be hugely valuable. However, at present, UK law offers no standalone statutory right........

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