Johnny Cash Estate Takes on Coca-Cola Over Alleged Voice Imitation
The John R. Cash Revocable Trust has filed a federal lawsuit against Coca-Cola, claiming that the company's recent college football ad infringed on Johnny Cash's right of publicity under Tennessee's Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act (ELVIS) Act.
According to the complaint, Coca-Cola hired Shawn Barker, a professional Cash tribute performer, to impersonate the country singer in an advertisement. The estate alleges that the voice used in the commercial sounds "remarkably" like Cash's, and that this is a clear case of unauthorized use of the artist's likeness without permission or compensation.
The lawsuit states that while the trust licenses Johnny Cash's intellectual property, such as his songs "Ragged Old Flag" and "Personal Jesus," which have been used in high-profile events like Super Bowl telecasts, Coca-Cola never sought the estate's permission to use a voice sounding like Cash for their ad. The cash estate believes this constitutes a serious breach of Cash's rights.
"This case arises from Coca-Cola's pirating Johnny Cash's voice in a nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself — without asking for permission or providing any compensation to the humble man and artist who created the goodwill from which Coca-Cola now profits," the complaint reads.
The cash estate is seeking not only a court injunction that would remove the ad from airing but also financial damages, alleging violations of Cash's rights under the ELVIS Act. While this is the first major case brought under the legislation, it highlights the growing importance of protecting artists' voices and likenesses in an era where deepfakes and voice clones are becoming increasingly prevalent.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola has yet to comment on the allegations, but the case underscores the need for greater transparency and respect for artists' rights in the use of their likenesses.
The John R. Cash Revocable Trust has filed a federal lawsuit against Coca-Cola, claiming that the company's recent college football ad infringed on Johnny Cash's right of publicity under Tennessee's Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act (ELVIS) Act.
According to the complaint, Coca-Cola hired Shawn Barker, a professional Cash tribute performer, to impersonate the country singer in an advertisement. The estate alleges that the voice used in the commercial sounds "remarkably" like Cash's, and that this is a clear case of unauthorized use of the artist's likeness without permission or compensation.
The lawsuit states that while the trust licenses Johnny Cash's intellectual property, such as his songs "Ragged Old Flag" and "Personal Jesus," which have been used in high-profile events like Super Bowl telecasts, Coca-Cola never sought the estate's permission to use a voice sounding like Cash for their ad. The cash estate believes this constitutes a serious breach of Cash's rights.
"This case arises from Coca-Cola's pirating Johnny Cash's voice in a nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself — without asking for permission or providing any compensation to the humble man and artist who created the goodwill from which Coca-Cola now profits," the complaint reads.
The cash estate is seeking not only a court injunction that would remove the ad from airing but also financial damages, alleging violations of Cash's rights under the ELVIS Act. While this is the first major case brought under the legislation, it highlights the growing importance of protecting artists' voices and likenesses in an era where deepfakes and voice clones are becoming increasingly prevalent.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola has yet to comment on the allegations, but the case underscores the need for greater transparency and respect for artists' rights in the use of their likenesses.
... We're living in an era where technology can easily replicate voices and images, but are we really ready to confront what that means? I mean, think about it – Johnny Cash's voice was a unique sound, a part of his identity as an artist. And now, someone else is using it to sell Coca-Cola ? It's like the line between art and commerce gets blurred... 
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That's rich - Coke profiting from Cash's legacy without permission, like a bad imitation that won't stop 
And now they're going to try and deepfake their way out of this one... nope, not on our watch! 
. And what's the big deal 'bout Shawn Barker bein' a tribute performer? It's just a voice, right? You can't own a person's voice, that's just plain silly 
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. And yeah, this does highlight the crazy world of deepfakes and voice clones... it's like, what even is real anymore? 
. Will Coca-Cola come clean and take down the ad, or are they gonna fight this all the way to court? Only time will tell 
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. Maybe this will be a good thing? Like, maybe we'll see more artists taking control of their own likenesses and not letting others use them without permission 
And what even is this ELVIS Act thingy? It sounds like some kind of weird law from Tennessee 
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interesting that the Johnny Cash estate is taking action against Coca-Cola over this! Like, can you imagine hearing a voice sounding just like Johnny Cash without even knowing it's an impersonation? The whole deepfake thing is getting crazy! I mean, what's next? Someone's gonna sue Pepsi for using a Justin Bieber voice in their ad 
. This case does highlight the importance of respecting artists' rights tho, especially with all these AI advancements and stuff...
Can you even imagine if this was a parody of The Joker from Batman? Like, someone hired Joaquin Phoenix's voice to do a fake interview and you'd be all " Hold up, that sounds like the real deal!" 
The ELVIS Act needs to be taken super seriously now!
, it's just an ad, not a concert tour or something. 500+ years of his music are already out there in the wild, and now they're trying to police every single use of his "sound" 
? I mean, what's next? A lawsuit against the radio stations that play his songs 24/7 
?
anyway, shouldn't coke just buy the rights to use the song or something instead of trying to replicate it with a dude in a costume?
but still, it's not right to imitate someone's voice without permission or payin' royalties, fam. the fact that they used a professional performer who sounds "remarkably" like cash is just wild 
. and can you imagine if this became a trend? everyone'd be trying to imitate voices left and right? anywayz, i got all the respect for johnny cash's estate for standin' up for his artistry 
, and hopefully they get some justice outta this one 
! I mean, who uses a deepfake voice like that? 
. It's not like they're selling knockoff sneakers or something 
. This whole thing is kinda crazy 
. I mean, we've all heard those deepfake videos that are super convincing - it's like, who's really behind the voice? 
. The law might be a bit murky on this one, but I think we can all agree that transparency is key 
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is trying to say they didn't know what they were doing but COME ON 
. It's like they're trying to take a piece of him without giving anything back. The thing is, we all know that when we create something amazing, it's not just about us, it's about the impact it has on others. Like, when you write a song or make music, it can bring people together and change their lives. But in this case, Coca-Cola seems to be taking advantage of that without even asking 
I don't get why Coke needs to hire some guy who sounds like Johnny Cash just to make an ad. Can't they just ask the estate if it's cool? It seems like a pretty obvious breach of his rights, you know? 