One of the most shared AI video formats this year puts famous figures from history and art into ordinary modern life. A queen rides the Metro at rush hour. A painter waits in a laundromat. A Renaissance portrait sits at a self-checkout. Played completely straight and shot like a real film, the format works because everyone already knows who the character is. You don't have to introduce them; the joke starts in the first frame.
It's also a format where people get the legal side wrong. The common assumption is "historical figures can't claim copyright, so they're free to use." That's partly true and partly risky. This guide explains which figures are safe, which aren't, and how to make the format work.
*This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country; for anything with money or a client at stake, check with a lawyer where you are.*
The format works because the audience already knows the character.
The short answer
People who died long ago, and subjects of old paintings, are the safe choice. Think Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Cleopatra, the Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Figures who died within roughly the last century need checking. Their work may still be under copyright somewhere, and their name and image may be protected by post-death likeness rights or trademarks.
Living people are off limits for an AI character without their permission, however famous.
Don't copy someone else's format exactly. Using the same figure in the same setting as a well-known account invites trouble and doesn't get you noticed anyway.
AI images can't be copyrighted on their own in the US, so what do you actually own when you run an AI influencer? The character, the name, the accounts, the audience and the contracts, explained in plain English.
When people say "public domain", they usually mean copyright. But three separate kinds of rights can attach to a famous figure, and they expire on different clocks.
1. Copyright in the artist's works
Copyright protects works, such as paintings, books and photos, not people. It runs out after a fixed term:
In the EU, the UK and many other countries, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years. The EU harmonised this in its 2006 term directive.
In the US, works published before 1931 are now in the public domain. Works from 1930 entered it on January 1, 2026, according to Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Later works depend on their publication date and whether formalities were followed.
In Mexico, the term is the author's life plus 100 years (Article 29 of the Federal Copyright Law), one of the longest anywhere.
So a painter who died in 1890, like Vincent van Gogh, left work that is public domain everywhere. A painter who died in 1954, like Frida Kahlo, is a different story. Her paintings entered the public domain in life-plus-70 countries in 2025. In Mexico, where she lived and worked, they stay protected until the end of 2054.
Copyright matters if your video reproduces an artwork: a painting on the wall behind your character, or a character dressed in a recognisable painted outfit. It matters less if you only show the person.
2. Likeness rights after death
Many places protect a person's name, image and likeness, often called the right of publicity. In some, that right outlives the person:
California protects a deceased personality's name and likeness for 70 years after death (Civil Code § 3344.1), for people who were domiciled there.
New York added a post-death right in 2021, lasting 40 years, with specific rules on digital replicas of deceased performers. It applies only to people who died on or after May 29, 2021.
Other US states and other countries have their own versions, and some have none. The pattern is clear, though: the more recent and famous the person, the more likely someone still controls how they're shown commercially.
3. Trademarks
A famous name can be registered as a trademark, and trademarks don't expire as long as they're used. The Frida Kahlo Corporation, for example, holds US trademarks in Kahlo's name and has gone to court over who controls them. Even where copyright and likeness rights have run out, using a trademarked name to sell products can still cause problems.
A practical rule of thumb
The safest picks meet both of these tests:
The person died more than 100 years ago, or is a figure from a painting, sculpture, book or myth whose creator did (or from anonymous folklore).
No company or estate is actively licensing their name. A quick trademark search on the name before you build an account around it costs nothing.
The 100-year line is deliberately cautious. It clears the longest copyright term (Mexico's life plus 100) and every post-death likeness right we know of. It's a good default for a character you plan to post every day, possibly with brand deals later.
Two more categories are worth avoiding for reasons of common sense rather than law. Founders and central figures of religions people practise today can cause deep offence. People known mainly for atrocities rarely make a funny character and can get an account restricted.
Copyright, likeness rights and trademarks each follow their own rules.
Good picks and risky ones
Figure
Died / created
Why
Marie Antoinette
died 1793
Long dead; instantly recognisable look
Napoleon Bonaparte
died 1821
Long dead; famous silhouette
Cleopatra
died 30 BC
Ancient; recognisable in any setting
Girl with a Pearl Earring
painted c. 1665
Vermeer died 1675
Mona Lisa
painted c. 1503–1519
Leonardo died 1519, but heavily overused
Vincent van Gogh
died 1890
Public domain, but already widely used in this format
Frida Kahlo
died 1954
Works protected in Mexico until 2054; trademark disputes
Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso
died 1989, 1973
Works under copyright; active estates
Being legally safe isn't the same as being a good idea. Van Gogh and the Mona Lisa are free to use, but audiences have seen them many times. A figure people know but haven't seen in this format will stand out more.
What makes the format funny
The figures that work best have three things:
A look you recognise in one frame. A towering powdered wig, a bicorne hat, a pearl earring. If the costume needs explaining, the joke is gone before it starts.
One famous trait or line to play against. "Let them eat cake" (which Marie Antoinette almost certainly never said), Napoleon's supposed height, Cleopatra's milk baths. The joke is that trait colliding with modern life.
A completely straight delivery. Nobody in the video should wink at the camera. The character treats the Metro, the self-checkout or the group chat with full seriousness, and the people around them react like real people would.
Then give the character a repeatable bit, the same as any other AI character: one format that comes back every week with a new situation. "Marie Antoinette solves one modern problem" or "Napoleon reviews a new piece of tech" can run for months, and other people can copy and remix the idea. Our guide to AI influencer niches covers how to pick a lane that lasts, and most of these characters sit well in the lifestyle niche.
Keep it honest
A historical figure brought back as a photoreal person is obviously not real, but the platform rules still apply. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube all expect realistic AI-generated content to be labelled. Our guide to AI disclosure rules explains what each platform asks for.
Be careful with real modern brands and real people in the scenes. A queen at a recognisable fast-food chain, or next to a lookalike celebrity, brings back exactly the rights problems you avoided by choosing a long-dead figure. For the wider questions of what you own when you run an AI character, see Who Owns an AI Influencer?
Making one with Influgen
Influgen has an Icon option in the creator for exactly this. You name a historical figure or a figure from a classic painting, and Influgen checks the figure against the rules above. It lets through people who died more than 100 years ago and figures from works whose creators did. It refuses living people, anyone more recent, founders of living religions and people known for atrocities.
The character keeps its famous face and period look in every post and video. The suggestions can write the rest for you: a modern niche that collides with who they were, a catchphrase, and one bit they repeat. Their AI team then plans, creates and posts within your rules, with each platform's AI label on every post. If you'd rather start with a name, try the free AI influencer name generator.
Launch prices are on the pricing page. Influgen is opening in waves: create your influencer for free now, and their team starts when your spot opens.
Free to create, no card needed. The first 1,000 get 100 extra credits.
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