(Yicai) March 18 -- Artificial intelligence-generated videos of celebrities, including 'resurrected' dead stars, have jumped in popularity on Chinese short-video platforms as production costs are low. But they may be breaking the law, according to lawyers.

Making and posting AI videos of deceased celebrities and selling their AI-generated avatars on e-commerce platforms likely violates the law and regulations, several lawyers told Yicai.

A 30 to 60-second video of a celebrity brought back to life through AI technology costs CNY80 to CNY600 (USD11.10 to USD83.40). Chinese e-commerce platforms also offer AI avatars of living stars for less than CNY25, which has proved popular with many people. 

Posting videos that 'resurrect' deceased individuals without the consent of their families and using them in pursuit of commercial gain infringes image rights, Liao Jianxun, a lawyer at Guangdong Guoding Law Firm, said to Yicai. 

Disputes have begun following the increasing number of videos in which deceased people are 'brought back to life' by AI on short-video platforms. Chinese actor and singer Qiao Renliang, who committed suicide in 2016, was 'revived' in videos circulating online using AI technology. 

The videos did not ask for the consent of Qiao's family, his father said on March 16, noting that they were unacceptable and made him feel uncomfortable. He asked for them to be taken down. 

AI-generated videos of deceased Hong Kong-born singer and actress Coco Lee, US basketball player Kobe Bryant, Chinese pop singer Yao Beina, and Taiwan-born model and actor Godfrey Gao can also be found online. Video creators can upload the clips themselves, with many also taking orders and some even recruiting apprentices. 

With regard to living stars, the AI avatar of Chinese actress Yang Mi is priced at just CNY9.90 (USD1.40). According to merchants, any person in a video can be made to look like Yang using DeepFaceLab, a deepfake software.

Consumers may think celebrity AI-generated avatars for sale can be used without authorization, but that likely infringes on image rights, reputation, and privacy, noted Fu Jian, director at Henan Zejin Law Firm. These products may also make criminal activity easier, harming society, Fu added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev