zlacker

I don't understand the point you are trying to make. The essential question is whether they were trying to imitate (using a voice actor or otherwise) Scarlett Johansson's voice without her permission. Nothing in the article refutes that they were; whether they sought the permission before or after they started doing the imitation is irrelevant. Others have pointed to previous case law that shows that this form of imitation is illegal.

Moreover I can't see any reasonable person concluding that they were not trying to imitate her voice given that:

1. It sounds similar to her (It's unbelievable that anyone would argue that they aren't similar, moreso given #2).

2. Her voice is famous for the context in which synthetic voice is used

3. They contacted her at some point to get her permission to use her voice

4. The CEO referenced the movie which Johansson's voice is famous for (and again depicts the same context the synthetic voice is being used) shortly before they released the synthetic voice.