Likeness

Likeness refers to a person's recognizable physical appearance — including their face, body, voice, and distinctive characteristics — which is protected as a form of intellectual property under the Right of Publicity in many jurisdictions. In the creator economy, likeness rights are relevant when a creator's image is used in advertising, AI-generated content, deepfakes, or merchandise without their consent. Creators should include likeness clauses in brand deal contracts to control how their appearance is used in perpetuity, particularly as AI tools make it increasingly easy to generate synthetic versions of a person's likeness.