Dispute over AI clause: Netflix series with different German voices
As it currently stands, the two main actors in the fourth season of the successful French series "Lupin" will have different German voices than before.
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The resistance of voice actors against Netflix's attempt to obtain the right to use dubbing recordings for AI training purposes is expected to have tangible consequences in the autumn. The media magazine DWDL reports that, as things currently stand, the main actors Omar Sy and Ludivine Sagnier will no longer be dubbed by their previous voice actors Sascha Rotermund and Anne Helm in the German version of the 4th season of the successful series “Lupin”.
According to DWDL, both are said to be refusing to sign the so-called AOR agreement (Assignment of Rights Agreement). Two other German voice actors for the series, not named, are also said to have joined the boycott.
“Lupin” is the first major Netflix production affected by the strike. Recently, in “Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85,” the animated version of the hit series “Stranger Things,” Peter Flechtner and Carlotta Pahl were already replaced as the voice actors for the central characters Hopper and Eleven, which led to negative comments under the trailer on YouTube. The credits of the series also lack information on German dubbing.
Voice actors' association files data protection complaint
The Association of German Voice Actors (VDS), which had called for the strike against Netflix, is currently preparing a data protection complaint to the responsible supervisory authority, according to its statements. A neutral body will now legally review the agreement.
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Netflix is holding back on statements regarding the current boycott, merely referring to the agreements on the use of AI concluded with the actors' union BFFS last summer. This agreement is precisely what has sparked a dispute between VDS and BFFS: A law firm commissioned by the voice actors' association considers not only central clauses of the new contract that Netflix is presenting to voice actors to be invalid or unlawful. In their opinion, the law firm Spirit Legal also points out that the general clause from the BFFS agreement, which they consider to be non-transparent and invalid, also appears in the AOR agreement.
The actors' union has therefore commissioned copyright expert Prof. Dr. Artur-Axel Wandtke to conduct an expert review of Spirit Legal's report. His judgment is clearly negative: “Central conclusions of this report are based on incorrect legal starting points.” VDS members subsequently criticized Wandtke's membership in the BFFS advisory board. BFFS subsequently informed heise online that the advisory board is neither bound by instructions nor involved in operational or contractual decision-making processes. Wandtke was therefore not involved in the negotiations with Netflix either – not even in an advisory capacity.
(nij)
