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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 185
2025-2026
Representatives Mathews, A., Mathews,
T.
To
amend sections 2741.01, 2741.02, 2741.05, 2741.06, 2741.09, and
2905.11 and to enact sections 2742.01, 2742.02, 2742.03, and 2742.04
of the Revised Code
to
make changes to the law relating to the unauthorized use of an
individual's persona and to prohibit certain unauthorized deepfake
recordings.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 2741.01, 2741.02, 2741.05, 2741.06, 2741.09, and 2905.11 be
amended and sections 2742.01, 2742.02, 2742.03, and 2742.04 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
2741.01.
As
used in this chapter:
(A)
"Persona" means an individual's name, voice, signature,
photograph, image, likeness, or distinctive appearance
,
if any of these aspects have commercial value
.
(B)
"Commercial purpose" means the use of or reference to an
aspect of an individual's persona in any of the following manners:
(1)
On or in connection with a place, product, merchandise, goods,
services, or other commercial activities not expressly exempted under
this chapter;
(2)
For advertising or soliciting the purchase of products, merchandise,
goods, services, or other commercial activities not expressly
exempted under this chapter;
(3)
For the purpose of promoting travel to a place;
(4)
For the purpose of fundraising.
(C)
"Name" means the actual, assumed, or clearly identifiable
name of or reference to a living or deceased individual that
identifies the individual.
(D)
"Right of publicity" means the property right in an
individual's persona to use the individual's persona
for a commercial purpose
.
(E)
"Trier of fact" means the jury or, in a nonjury action, the
court.
(F)
"Written consent" includes written, electronic, digital, or
any other verifiable means of authorization.
(G)
"Institution of higher education" means a state institution
of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised
Code, a private nonprofit college or university located in this state
that possesses a certificate of authorization issued by the Ohio
board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, or a
school located in this state that possesses a certificate of
registration and one or more program authorizations issued by the
state board of career colleges and schools under Chapter 3332. of the
Revised Code.
Sec.
2741.02.
(A)
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person shall not use
any aspect of an individual's persona
for
a commercial purpose
or
a modified facsimile of an individual's persona wherein a reasonable
trier of fact would confuse the modified facsimile and the
individual
:
(1)
During the individual's lifetime;
(2)
For a period of sixty years after the date of the individual's death;
or
(3)
For a period of ten years after the date of death of a deceased
member of the Ohio national guard or the armed forces of the United
States.
(B)
A person may use an individual's persona
for
a commercial purpose
during
the individual's lifetime if the person first obtains the written
consent to use the individual's persona from a person specified in
section 2741.05 of the Revised Code. If an individual whose persona
is at issue has died, a person may use the individual's persona
for
a commercial purpose
if
either of the following applies:
(1)
The person first obtains the written consent to use the individual's
persona from a person specified in section 2741.05 of the Revised
Code who owns the individual's right of publicity.
(2)
The name of the individual whose persona is used was the name of a
business entity or a trade name at the time of the individual's
death.
(C)
Subject to the terms of any agreement between a person specified in
section 2741.05 of the Revised Code and a person to whom that person
grants consent to use an individual's right of publicity, a consent
obtained before the death of an individual whose persona is at issue
remains valid after the individual's death.
(D)
For purposes of this section:
(1)
A use of an aspect of an individual's persona in connection with any
news, public affairs, sports broadcast, or account does not
constitute a use for which consent is required under division (A) of
this section.
(2)
A use of an aspect of an individual's persona in connection with any
political campaign and in compliance with Title XXXV of the Revised
Code does not constitute a use for which consent is required under
division (A) of this section.
(E)
The owners or employees of any medium used for advertising, including
but not limited to, a newspaper, magazine, radio or television
network or station, cable television system, billboard, transit ad,
and global communications network, by whom any advertisement or
solicitation in violation of this section is published or
disseminated are not liable under this section or section 2741.07 of
the Revised Code unless it is established that those owners or
employees had knowledge of the unauthorized use of the persona as
prohibited by this section.
Sec.
2741.05.
(A)
Except as otherwise expressly provided in an agreement transferring
an aspect of an individual's right of publicity, only the following
persons may grant consent to use an individual's persona
for a commercial purpose
:
(1)
A person or persons, including the individual whose right of
publicity is at issue, who collectively own more than fifty per cent
of the individual's right of publicity, subject to the terms of any
other licenses regarding that right of publicity;
(2)
A person, including a licensee of the individual's right of
publicity, who is expressly authorized in writing to grant consent by
a person or persons specified in division (A)(1) of this section.
(B)
A person or persons specified in division (A) of this section may do
one or both of the following:
(1)
Grant a person or persons consent to use all or part of an
individual's right of publicity for a commercial purpose;
(2)
Limit, restrict, or place conditions on how a person or persons to
whom consent is granted pursuant to this section may use an
individual's right of publicity.
Sec.
2741.06.
(A)
The following persons may bring a civil action to enforce the rights
set forth in this chapter:
(1)
A person or persons, including an individual whose right of publicity
is at issue, who collectively own all of an individual's right of
publicity, subject to any licenses regarding that right of publicity;
(2)
A person, including a licensee of an individual's right of publicity,
who is expressly authorized in writing by the owner or owners of an
individual's right of publicity to bring a civil action;
(3)
Except as otherwise expressly provided in an agreement transferring
an aspect of an individual's right of publicity and subject to
division (C) of this section, a person to whom ownership or any
portion of ownership of an individual's right of publicity has been
transferred.
(B)
Before bringing a civil action under this section, a person who owns
less than all of an individual's right of publicity shall notify the
individual whose right of publicity is the subject of the proposed
action, if living, by
electronic
mail or
regular
mail addressed to the last known address of that individual. The
person also shall notify any persons to whom the individual's right
of publicity has been transferred of the proposed civil action by the
following means:
(1)
Regular mail addressed to the last known address of each transferee;
(2)
Electronic
mail to each transferee;
(3)
If
the address
or
electronic mail address
of
the transferee is not known, publication in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county in which the individual whose right of
publicity is the subject of the proposed civil action resides, or, in
the case of a deceased individual, in the county in which the
individual's estate has been or would have been admitted to probate.
(C)
The individual whose right of publicity is the subject of the
proposed civil action brought under this section, and any person to
whom ownership of that right of publicity has been transferred, may
object to the proposed civil action within twenty days from the date
of the mailing of the notice referred to in division (B) of this
section or sixty days from the date of publication referred to in
that division by giving written notice of the objection to the person
proposing the civil action. If the individual or transferee does not
object to the civil action within the time period specified in this
division, the individual or transferee is forever barred from
objecting to that action.
A
person may not bring a civil action under this section if a person or
persons, including the individual whose right of publicity is the
subject of the proposed civil action, who collectively own more than
fifty per cent of the individual's right of publicity object to the
proposed civil action.
(D)
A person, other than a licensee of an individual's right of
publicity, who owns less than all of an individual's right of
publicity and who brings a civil action under this chapter shall
account to any other person owning an interest in that right of
publicity to the extent of the other person's interest with respect
to any net recovery in a civil action less the person's costs of
collection and reasonable attorney's fees.
Sec.
2741.09.
(A)
This chapter does not apply to any of the following:
(1)(a)
A literary work, dramatic work, fictional work, historical work,
audiovisual work, or musical work regardless of the media in which
the work appears or is transmitted, other than an advertisement or
commercial announcement not exempt under division (A)(1)(d) of this
section
or an audiovisual work with a modified facsimile of an individual's
persona wherein a reasonable trier of fact would confuse the modified
facsimile and the individual
;
(b)
Material that has political or newsworthy value;
(c)
Original works of fine art;
(d)
An advertisement or commercial announcement for a use permitted by
division (A)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section.
(2)
The use of an individual's name to truthfully identify the individual
as the author of or contributor to a written work or the performer of
a recorded performance under circumstances in which the written work
or the recorded performance is otherwise lawfully reproduced,
exhibited, or broadcast;
(3)
The use of an aspect of an individual's persona in connection with
the broadcast or reporting of an event or topic of general or public
interest;
(4)
The use of the persona of an individual solely in the individual's
role as a member of the public if the individual is not named or
otherwise singled out as an individual;
(5)
A use of an individual's persona by an institution of higher
education if all of the following apply:
(a)
The individual is or was a student at, or a member of the faculty or
staff of, the institution of higher education.
(b)
The use of the individual's persona is for educational purposes or
for the promotion of the institution of higher education and its
educational or institutional objectives.
(6)
A use of the persona of an individual that is protected by the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution as long as the use does
not convey or reasonably suggest endorsement by the individual whose
persona is at issue
;
(7)
A radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or
satellite television operator, programmer, producer, or streaming
service, when the station receives consideration in exchange for
broadcasting, distributing, or exhibiting material that would
otherwise be prohibited by this chapter
.
(B)
This chapter does not affect rights or privileges recognized under
the Ohio Constitution or United States Constitution.
Sec.
2742.01.
As
used in this chapter:
(A)
"Deepfake recording" means any visual or audio media in an
electronic format, video recording, or sound recording that is
created or altered in a manner such that it falsely appears to be an
authentic record of the actual speech or conduct of an individual
depicted in the media or recording.
(B)
"Malicious deepfake recording" means a deepfake recording
created or altered by, or on behalf of, a person that intends to
cause harm to another person due to the false nature of the speech or
conduct recorded or depicted therein.
(C)
"Recording" means visual or audio media in an electronic
format, video recording, or sound recording.
Sec.
2742.02.
(A)
Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall,
without written consent of the depicted individual, do either of the
following:
(1)
Prepare, produce, or develop any malicious deepfake recording of an
individual's voice, image, or likeness to distribute to, exhibit to,
or exchange with others;
(2)
Offer to distribute, exhibit, or exchange with others a malicious
deepfake recording.
(B)
No person shall recklessly distribute any malicious deepfake
recording.
(C)
Divisions (A) and (B) of this section do not apply to any malicious
deepfake recording that meets either of the following criteria:
(1)
The material does not include a political or campaign advertisement,
and appears in a context that would cause a reasonable person to
believe that the material is inauthentic, such as in a parody or
fictionalized movie.
(2)
The material, which may include a political or campaign
advertisement, includes a disclaimer to which all of the following
apply:
(a)
It is included in a conspicuous place on the material or is contained
or included within the media or recording.
(b)
It states that the media or recording has been materially altered in
a manner that renders it fictionalized and inauthentic.
(c)
It identifies the name and contact information of the entity that is
responsible for creating or distributing the media or recording.
(D)
The exceptions provided in division (C) of this section do not apply
to a malicious deepfake recording that is pornographic or that
falsely depicts or records the speech or conduct of an individual who
is under seventeen years of age.
(E)
Divisions (A) and (B) of this section do not apply to a radio or
television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite
television operator, programmer, producer, or streaming service, when
the station receives consideration in exchange for broadcasting,
distributing, or exhibiting a malicious deepfake recording.
Sec.
2742.03.
(A)
An individual injured by a violation of division (A) or (B) of
section 2742.02 of the Revised Code may commence a civil action in a
court of competent jurisdiction against the person that violates that
division for any of the following:
(1)
Either actual damages or, at the election of the plaintiff, statutory
damages in an amount of at least two thousand five hundred dollars,
and not more than ten thousand dollars, as determined in the
discretion of the trier of fact, taking into account the willfulness
of the violation, the harm to the individual in question, and the
ability of the defendant to pay a civil damage award;
(2)
Punitive or exemplary damages pursuant to section 2315.21 of the
Revised Code, if applicable;
(3)
Temporary or permanent injunctive relief.
(B)(1)
In addition to the remedies described in division (A) of this
section, if the plaintiff establishes by a preponderance of the
evidence that the defendant violated section 2905.11 of the Revised
Code in relation to the violation of division (A) or (B) of section
2742.02 of the Revised Code, the court shall additionally award the
plaintiff statutory damages based on the amount the defendant extorts
or attempts to extort from the plaintiff whose voice, image, or
likeness is used in the deepfake recording. The amount of statutory
damages shall be determined subject to the following limitations:
(a)
If the value of the thing of value or valuable benefit involved in
the violation of section 2905.11 of the Revised Code is less than one
thousand dollars, the amount of statutory damages shall not exceed
two thousand five hundred dollars.
(b)
If the value of the thing of value or valuable benefit involved in
the violation of section 2905.11 of the Revised Code is at least one
thousand dollars, but less than seven thousand five hundred dollars,
the amount of statutory damages shall not exceed five thousand
dollars.
(c)
If the value of the thing of value or valuable benefit involved in
the violation of section 2905.11 of the Revised Code is at least
seven thousand five hundred dollars, but less than one hundred fifty
thousand dollars, the amount of statutory damages shall not exceed
ten thousand dollars.
(d)
If the value of the thing of value or valuable benefit involved in
the violation of section 2905.11 of the Revised Code is one hundred
fifty thousand dollars or more, the amount of statutory damages shall
not exceed fifteen thousand dollars.
(2)
A conviction of or plea of guilty to a violation of section 2905.11
of the Revised Code is not required for an award of statutory damages
under division (B)(1) of this section.
(C)
No action under this section shall be initiated more than four years
after the alleged violation of division (A) or (B) of section 2742.02
of the Revised Code.
(D)
The court in which an action under this section is initiated may
award the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees, court costs,
and reasonable expenses associated with the civil action.
(E)
As part of a final judgment, a court may order the destruction or
other reasonable disposition of a malicious deepfake recording,
including by requiring the defendant to take affirmative steps to
cause others to take down the malicious deepfake recording and by
requiring the defendant to indemnify the plaintiff for any past or
future expenses associated with the plaintiff's efforts to have the
malicious deepfake recording removed or destroyed.
(F)
The trier of fact shall include any profits derived from, and
attributable to, a violation of division (A) or (B) of section
2742.02 of the Revised Code in calculating the award of actual
damages under this section.
Sec.
2742.04.
(A)
The remedies provided for in this chapter are in addition to any
other remedies provided for by state or federal statute or common
law.
(B)
Any person that purchases a deepfake recording, while holding a
good-faith belief that the recording is authentic, may commence a
civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against a person
who violates division (A) or (B) of section 2742.02 of the Revised
Code for either of the following:
(1)
Treble the amount of the actual economic damages;
(2)
At the direction of the plaintiff, statutory damages in the amount of
two hundred fifty dollars.
Sec.
2905.11.
(A)
As used in this section and section 2905.111 of the Revised Code:
(1)
"Elderly person" and "disabled adult" have the
same meanings as in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code.
(2)
"Information service" and "telecommunications service"
have the same meanings as in the "Telecommunications Act of
1996," 47 U.S.C. 153, as amended.
(3)
"Interactive computer service" has the same meaning as in
the "Telecommunications Act of 1996," 47 U.S.C. 230, as
amended.
(4)
"Nudity," "sexual activity," and "sexual
excitement" have the same meanings as in section 2907.01 of the
Revised Code.
(5)
"Private images" means images of sexual activity,
masturbation, sexual excitement, nudity, bestiality, extreme or
bizarre violence, cruelty, or brutality, or human bodily functions of
elimination.
(6)
"Threat" includes a direct threat and a threat by innuendo.
(B)
(B)(1)
No person, with purpose to obtain any valuable thing or valuable
benefit or to induce another to do an unlawful act, shall do any of
the following:
(1)
(a)
Threaten to commit any felony;
(2)
(b)
Threaten to commit any offense of violence;
(3)
(c)
Violate section 2903.21 or 2903.22 of the Revised Code;
(4)
(d)
Utter or threaten any calumny against any person;
(5)
(e)
Expose or threaten to expose any matter tending to subject any person
to hatred, contempt, or ridicule, or to damage any person's personal
or business repute, or to impair any person's credit.
(2)
A person violates division (B)(1)(d) or (e) of this section by
distributing, exhibiting, or exchanging a malicious deepfake
recording that falsely depicts or records the speech or conduct of
another individual, in violation of division (A) or (B) of section
2742.02 of the Revised Code, or by threatening to do so.
(C)
Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of extortion,
a felony of the third degree.
(D)
No person, with purpose to do any of the following, shall threaten to
release, exhibit, or distribute the private images of another:
(1)
Compel or attempt to compel the other person, against the other
person's will, to perform any act or refrain from performing any act;
(2)
Induce the other person to commit an offense;
(3)
Obtain additional private images from the other person;
(4)
Obtain anything of value from the other person.
(E)
Whoever violates division (D) of this section is guilty of sexual
extortion. The penalty for the offense shall be determined as
follows:
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(2) or (3) of this
section, sexual extortion is a felony of the third degree.
(2)
Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(3) of this section, if
the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a
violation of division (D) of this section or if the offense involves
sexual extortion of a person under the age of eighteen, an elderly
person, or a disabled adult, sexual extortion is a felony of the
second degree.
(3)
If the offender has previously been convicted of or pleaded guilty to
two or more violations of division (D) of this section or if the
offender has previously been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an
offense involving sexual extortion of a person under the age of
eighteen, an elderly person, or a disabled adult and the offender
knows or has reason to know that the person is under the age of
eighteen, an elderly person, or a disabled adult, sexual extortion is
a felony of the first degree.
(F)
A prosecution for a violation of division (D) of this section does
not preclude a prosecution of a violation of division (B) of this
section. One or more acts, a series of acts, or a course of behavior
that can be prosecuted under division (D) of this section or division
(B) of this section may be prosecuted under division (D) of this
section, division (B) of this section, or both divisions. However, if
an offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of
division (D) of this section and also is convicted of or pleads
guilty to a violation of division (B) of this section based on the
same conduct involving the same victim that was the basis of the
violation of division (D) of this section, the two offenses are
allied offenses of similar import under section 2941.25 of the
Revised Code.
(G)(1)
No person shall assert a cause of action in any court of this state
against any provider of an information service, an interactive
computer service, or a telecommunications service, or against any
agent, employee, or officer of such provider, for any injury, death,
or loss to person or property that allegedly arises out of the
provider's, officer's, employee's, or agent's provision of
information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with the terms
of a court order that is issued in relation to the investigation or
prosecution of an alleged violation of division (D) of this section.
(2)
A provider of an information service, an interactive computer
service, or a telecommunications service, or any agent, employee, or
officer of such provider, is immune from any civil or criminal
liability for injury, death, or loss to person or property that
allegedly arises out of the provider's, officer's, employee's, or
agent's provision of information, facilities, or assistance in
accordance with the terms of a court order that is issued in relation
to the investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation of
division (D) of this section.
(H)(1)(a)
A person shall not be considered to have violated division (D) of
this section solely for providing access or connection to or from an
electronic method of remotely transferring information not under that
person's control, including having provided capabilities that are
incidental to providing access or connection to or from the
electronic method of remotely transferring the information and that
do not include the creation of the content of the material that is
the subject of the access or connection.
(b)
Any person providing access or connection to or from an electronic
method of remotely transferring information not under that person's
control shall not be liable for any action voluntarily taken in good
faith to block the receipt or transmission through its service of any
information that the person believes is, or will be, sent in
violation of division (D) of this section.
(2)
Division (H)(1) of this section does not create an affirmative duty
for any person providing access or connection to or from an
electronic method of remotely transferring information not under that
person's control to block the receipt or transmission through its
service of any information that it believes is, or will be sent, in
violation of division (D) of this section, except as otherwise
provided by law.
(3)
Division (H)(1) of this section does not apply to a person who
conspires with another person actively involved in the creation or
knowing distribution of material in violation of division (D) of this
section, or who knowingly advertises the availability of material of
that nature.
(4)(a)
A provider or user of an interactive computer service shall neither
be treated as the publisher nor speaker of any information provided
by another information content provider, nor shall such a person be
held civilly or criminally liable for the creation or development of
information provided by another information content provider.
(b)
Nothing in division (H)(4)(a) of this section shall be construed as
protecting a person from liability to the extent that the person
developed or created any content in violation of division (D) of this
section.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 2741.01, 2741.02, 2741.05, 2741.06, 2741.09, and
2905.11 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.