Yesterday, in Tokyo, a court made history for creators. Actor Kenjiro Tsuda, famous for voicing characters in the anime Jujutsu Kaisen, took on a TikTok account. The account used an AI voice that sounded just like his. It posted more than 180 videos and grew past 200,000 followers. The judge ruled in his favor. She said a person's voice is like their face. It carries their identity. Using it without permission, to draw a crowd, violates his publicity rights. This is the first time a Japanese court has recognized a legal right to your own voice. What happened: an AI copy of a real voice, used without permission, and the court said no. What it means for you: your voice is yours. This ruling was not a copyright case. It was about the right to your own likeness. But the idea is the same one behind the HOF Test (Human. Original. Fixed.). Ownership starts with the human behind the work. Your voice, your face, your style, these are yours. Nobody gets to feed them into a machine and cash in without your say. This is educational, not legal advice. The law is different in every country and state. But the trend is clear. Courts around the world are starting to protect creators from AI copies. One practical takeaway: before you create or build anything with AI, ask one question. Whose voice, face, or work am I using, and do I have permission? Get that permission in writing. A simple license or release now beats a lawsuit later. Discussion question: If someone copied YOUR voice with AI and posted 180 videos with it, what would you do? Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/world/tokyo-court-grants-legal-protection-human-voice-ai-clone-case-1559536

October is National Book Month, so let's make it ours. Drop the title of the book you are writing this month in the comments. Finished draft, rough draft, or just an idea, all of it counts. All month long we are running the HOF Test together. Human. Original. Fixed. Your words, owned by you. For education, not legal advice.

Big news for every creator. Yesterday, a federal appeals court ruled that training AI on someone else's copyrighted work is NOT automatically fair use. Here is what happened. Thomson Reuters owns Westlaw, the legal research platform. A company called Ross Intelligence copied thousands of Westlaw's written summaries to train its own AI search engine. Ross said it was fair use. The court said no. This is the first time a U.S. appeals court has ruled on fair use in an AI training case.

This case was about a search engine, not the kind of AI that writes books. But the principle is the sa me, and here is what it means for you:

1. Your work has real protection. When a company feeds your book, your music, or your course into their AI without permission, "fair use" is not the free pass they claim it is.

2. Courts are drawing a line. Using someone's creative work to build a competing product is not the same as being inspired by it.

3. This is why the HOF Test (Human. Original. Fixed.) matters. Before you create or build anything with AI, know what is yours, what is theirs, and what you have permission to use.

One practical takeaway: keep records of what you create and when. Dated drafts, notes, and files are your proof of ownership if anyone ever uses your work without asking.

For education, not legal advice.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-appeals-court-upholds-thomson-reuters-landmark-win-ai-training-lawsuit-2026-09-29/

Dr. Fred Jones, Esq.
Protecting the Property of the Mind

If a company trained its AI on your book without asking, what would you want to happen? Tell me below.

Outkast just sued a rapper named Ovrkast. Yes, you read that right. Andre 3000 and Big Boi's company filed a 31-page federal lawsuit on September 16. They say his stage name is nearly identical to theirs and confuses fans. They want him to stop using it, pay damages, and destroy his merchandise. His album drops October 9. Three lessons for every creator: 1. Search your name before you build your brand. Ovrkast built his whole career on a name he may not get to keep. Before you pick a stage name, pen name, or business name, check that no one famous already owns something close. 2. Get it in writing. The two sides verbally agreed he would rebrand by July 15. He never signed the final papers. Now it is a federal case. A verbal agreement is worth the paper it is written on. 3. Your own words can be used against you. In a 2025 interview, Ovrkast admitted fans confuse his name with Outkast. That quote is now evidence in the lawsuit. Be careful what you say in public. Your name is your brand. Protect it before you build on it. For education, not legal advice. Which lesson hit you hardest? Tell me below.

Can you own what AI helps you create? Here is a simple test I teach. It is called the HOF Test. H stands for Human. Did a human make creative choices? Picking the words, the images, the sound, the order of things. That is human choice. O stands for Original. Did it come from you? Not copied from someone else. Your own expression, your own voice. F stands for Fixed. Is it saved in a real form? A file on your computer. Words on paper. A recording. Something you can point to. AI can help you write a book. It can help you make music, a course, or a video. But help is not the same as doing it all. You still need your human choices, your original touch, and your work saved in a fixed form. Which of the three do you think most people fail? H, O, or F? Tell me in the comments. Educational info only, not legal advice. Get the free AI + IP Wake-Up Call: https://fredjoneslawfirm.com Keep learning free inside the Copyright Ownership Network: https://www.skool.com/copyright-ownership-network-9552/about You used AI to help write your book. But can you actually own it? In this video I break down the HOF Test: Human, Original, Fixed. Three words that decide whether your book is really yours. This video is for education only and is not legal advice. #Copyright #Trademark #AIandCopyright #Authorship #Publishing