# VO artists sue over “stolen” voices {VO=Voice Over}

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vo-artists-sue-over-stolen-voices-vo-voice-over/1006565>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 1, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vo-artists-sue-over-stolen-voices-vo-voice-over/1006565 "2024-09-01T15:15:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vo-artists-sue-over-stolen-voices-vo-voice-over/1006565/1 "2024-09-01T15:15:28Z")

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I know this type of story isn’t new, but it’s always disconcerting. If you’re of a paranoid bent, how would you know if anything is real? I hope these two are able to get some answers from the company and laws put in place to crack down more firmly on this sort of thing.

> **['A tech firm stole our voices - then cloned and sold them'](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3d9zv50955o)**
>
> A voice over artist found out his voice had been taken when he heard a chatbot on a podcast using it.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vo-artists-sue-over-stolen-voices-vo-voice-over/1006565/2 "2024-09-01T17:39:01Z")

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It’s not a new issue. There’s a long tradition of cheap voice artists who sound like A-list actors, and often play the same character in a spinoff cartoon that the A-lister played in a movie. The process is different now, in that you don’t need a human to play the cheap role any more, but the effect on the original actor is still the same: You get a voice that sounds like them but which they weren’t paid for.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vo-artists-sue-over-stolen-voices-vo-voice-over/1006565/3 "2024-09-03T14:14:54Z")

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True. Kenn Delmar virtually had his “Senator Claghorn” character stolen out from under him and repackaged as Foghorn Leghorn. They didn’t even bother changing the name much.

I still think that Helen Kane was rooked when she lost her lawsuit against Fleischer studios and Betty Boop for stealing her “Boop - oop -a - Doop” signature style.

> **[How Did Helen Kane Lose Her $250,000 Lawsuit?](https://bettyboop.fandom.com/wiki/How_Did_Helen_Kane_Lose_Her_$250,000_Lawsuit%3F)**
>
> Helen Kane lost her $250,000 Infringement Lawsuit\[1\] against the creators of Betty Boop in court because she couldn't prove that her singing style, mannerisms and look was unique. Most flappers of the 1920s and 1930s, most notably Clara Bow, looked...

Hanna-Barbera’s 1960s TV cartoon characters were almost a who’s who of familiar actor’s voices: – none of whom voiced the characters or were acknowledged or paid.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/cartoons/comments/lqtx8h/hanna\_barbera\_characters\_and\_their\_celebrity/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cartoons/comments/lqtx8h/hanna_barbera_characters_and_their_celebrity/)