Well-Known Polish Voice Actor Sues Septic Tank Maker Over AI-Cloned Voice

Jarosław Łukomski, one of Poland's most recognizable voice actors, whose voice appeared in the Polish dubbed versions of "Die Hard" and "The Silence of the Lambs" among other films, has sued the company JFC Polska. The reason: his voice, recreated by an AI-based speech synthesizer, was used in YouTube ads for a septic tank and wastewater treatment plant manufacturer, even though he never recorded those lines and never consented to their use.

Łukomski discovered the case by chance, hearing an online ad in which a voice sounding almost identical to his own delivered lines he had never recorded. The materials were part of a paid marketing campaign by JFC Polska running on YouTube. An analysis of the recordings confirmed the audio had been generated using artificial intelligence that recreated the voice actor's distinctive tone.

Voice as a personal right

Łukomski's legal representatives base the lawsuit in part on Article 23 of the Polish Civil Code, which protects personal rights, including the right to one's image. Polish case law has already established that a person's voice is also protected under the right to one's image if it is recognizable to third parties, a position adopted by the Sąd Najwyższy (Poland's Supreme Court) in a ruling issued on October 3, 2007. Lawyers compare the voice actor's situation to voice identity theft.

The second pillar of the case is GDPR. According to Paweł Bukrewicz, president of Stowarzyszenie Lektorów RP (the Polish Voice Actors' Association), a voice constitutes biometric data that can identify a specific person, and cloning it with AI amounts to processing personal data without the required legal basis, information about the data controller, or a stated purpose. The lawsuit also cites copyright provisions, which allow claims for ceasing the infringement, removing its effects, and surrendering the benefits obtained.

This is a joke... Attitudes like this must be condemned - Jacek Brzostyński, voice actor

A settlement that fell apart

Before the case went to court, the parties spent months trying to reach an amicable agreement. Settlement and mediation proposals came from both sides of the dispute, but none of them led anywhere. Ultimately, Łukomski's legal representatives decided to take the case to court, demanding both a public apology and financial compensation, though the lawsuit does not specify an exact amount.

JFC's response

In an April 2026 statement, JFC Polska stressed that it had halted publication of the disputed advertising materials and had repeatedly proposed an amicable resolution. The company said the materials were informational and promotional in nature and that it never used Łukomski's name or likeness, only speech synthesis technology.

One's image and reputation, I'd simplify it to 'personal brand', are protected - attorney Tomasz Palak

A precedent for advertising and dubbing

Lawyers involved in the case stress that its outcome could set a precedent for the entire audio production and advertising market in Poland. Until now, there have been no clear, explicitly stated regulations defining the terms under which companies can use voice cloning technology in commercial materials, and the voice acting industry has been warning for months that synthetic AI voices threaten its existing business model.

Łukomski's case fits into a broader legal problem facing courts worldwide: how to protect the voice, image, and identity of creators in the age of generative artificial intelligence, when existing laws were written long before such tools appeared. Poland still lacks a separate law explicitly regulating voice cloning, forcing courts to rely on general provisions on personal rights, copyright, and data protection.

For Polish advertising firms and content producers, the ruling in this case will signal how far they can go in using AI speech generators without the consent of the person whose voice served as the model. For voice actors and voice performers, it is the first real test of whether domestic civil law is sufficient to defend their professional capital: a recognizable voice.

The case is still pending before the Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie (Warsaw Regional Court), and no ruling date has yet been set. The voice acting community says it will be closely following the outcome, hoping for clear guidance on the limits of AI use in advertising.