HAND’s Talent ID is an interoperable tool for the media supply-chain that solves current challenges to talent identity automation today, as well as growing threats to NIL – (Name, Image, and Likeness) rights from unlicensed AI-based deepfakes, by persistently identifying legitimate, consent-based ‘digital replicas' - thus protecting talent rights and preventing misuse.

Designed for the identification of measurably notable talent in cultural industries of entertainment, sports, fashion, music, news, gaming, and more - HAND’s ISO-level, standards-based technology is available as both a business intelligence-based, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platform with an API subscription model, and as a free Web UI for searching a limited amount of Talent IDs per day. It provides unique Talent ID verification for real persons, their virtual counterparts, and fictional characters.

Like a “tracking beacon” for talent, HAND helps automate the identification, verification, origin and authenticity of talent-related assets in audio/visual works. This helps content owners/providers streamline the management of talent residuals, royalties and participations - providing studios, payment processors, and content rights owners with a way to automatically track and more efficiently compensate talent and cast lists, protecting both assets and brands, and ensuring authenticity in media content.

At IBC 2024, HAND is leading an Accelerator Media Innovation Programme project: “Digital Replicas and Talent ID: Provenance, Verification and New Automated Workflows” - which provides a platform for the media community to collaborate on this critical challenge the industry is facing. Along with project champions Paramount Global, SMPTE, and Movie Labs – participants include EIDR, USC ETC (Entertainment Technology Centre), The Scan Truck, EZDRM, and more. In it, HAND will aim to show an example of how a notable Hollywood actor, with their consent - creates a digital replica of themselves, and how the usage of that replica can be securely identified and tracked across different platforms, ensuring that the rights and permissions of the talent are respected and enforced, preventing unauthorized or unethical uses of their digital likeness.

HAND is also participating in a second Accelerator project: “Design Your Weapons in the Fight Against Disinformation,” championed by BBC and Paramount Global, with participants including EBU, TV2, ITN, Transmixr, Media City Bergen, YLE, Channel 4, Associated Press, USC ETC (Entertainment Technology Centre), and CBC. This challenge will explore deepfake or anomaly detection tools and processes, the use of media provenance signals, and aims to establish closer industry collaboration and information sharing.