TikTok reached an agreement with Bev Standing to settle a lawsuit. Standing was the voice actress who claimed she was the original voice behind the text-to-speech app. Standing sued TikTok for using her voice without her permission in May. Standing's voice sounded robotic, and was spoken over by a robot in the app for several months.
Standing's lawyer said that the settlement was still being finalized, and that details about payment cannot be revealed. Robert Sciglimpaglia representing Standing said that they have reached an amicable settlement in a telephone conversation with The Verge. Sciglimpaglia stated that TikTok would license Standings' voice under the agreement. However, it is up to TikTok to decide whether to use it. TikTok didn't immediately respond to our request for comment.
Standing stated that her voice was intended to be used in Chinese translations
It seems like some bizarre mixup caused Standing's voice to be used by TikTok. Standing claimed that she recorded the recordings for a text to speech feature many years ago, but that they were intended for translations of Chinese texts. They were not meant to be used by anyone else. However, somehow her voice made it to TikTok where it became almost ubiquitous.
Standing stated that no matter what I do, this will affect my business.
Although TikTok has not confirmed the use of Standings voice, the feature sure did sound like her. Two weeks after the lawsuit was filed TikTok's text-to speech voice changed. Standings monotone recording was replaced by a more upbeat voice. It is assumed that TikTok has checked the copyright.
September 29, 2006, 06:15 ET Updated with comments from the Standings lawyer.
