The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to actor Kriti Sanon against the unauthorised use of her name, image, likeness and voice, including through AI-generated obscene images, deepfakes, impersonation accounts and AI chatbots [Kriti Sanon Vs BBE Marketing Inc & Ors].
The October 29 order passed by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav restrained various defendants named in a personality rights suit filed by Sanon, including certain unidentified entities, from generating or circulating content impersonating the actor or falsely suggesting an association with her.
The restraining order covers obscene or morphed images, videos and audio, including AI-generated content, as well as chatbots and voice models impersonating the actor without her consent. It restrains the unauthorised sale of merchandise using her name and image as well.
In her plea, Sanon stated that several accounts on YouTube, Facebook, X and Pinterest were fraudulently holding themselves out as her official representative. She stated that the accounts were circulating AI-generated morphed, sexually suggestive content.
Justice Kaurav observed that Sanon cannot be faulted for approaching the Court since she had previously complained to the intermediaries but they did not respond to her.
Therefore, it passed an interim injunction order for the takedown of the flagged content and restraining the further upload or circulation of some material.
However, the Court clarified that the injunction order does not extend to news, review, criticism, commentary, satire, parody, caricature or fan expression.
In its order, the Court also sounded a word of caution about granting omnibus injunction orders in personality rights suits.
“All the claims in a suit of this kind cannot be put under one umbrella and met with one omnibus injunction. Before deciding what deserves protection, the Court must ask what right is said to be infringed. Pleadings in suits of this kind also tend to join several distinct claims under the single label of 'personality rights,'" it noted.
The Court added that personality rights is a bundle of several distinct claims that may arise when a person’s identity is used without consent, including the right to publicity, privacy, passing off, defamation and rights under the Trade Marks and Copyright Acts.
“The right of publicity is, therefore, not the same as the right of privacy, though it has roots in it. If it were merely a facet of a fundamental right, it could not be licensed at all, and the endorsement arrangements on which it rests would have no legal basis,” the Court explained.
The Court stated that under the personality rights, each claim carries its own elements, defences and remedies. The Court also observed that the protection of personality rights is available to all persons.
“The rights are available to every individual. Fame bears on whether an identity has commercial value and on the loss caused by its misuse; it is not a condition of the right. Equally, the mere use of a person‟s identity is not, by itself, unlawful.”
In Sanon's case, the Court found that the material flagged by her in her suit prima facie misrepresented an association with her, infringed her privacy or were an affront to her dignity.
The Court, therefore, directed the takedown of identified webpages containing such objectionable content.
It also directed the internet intermediaries to furnish basic subscriber information and IP logs of such webpages within three weeks. It further directed the concerned government departments under the Central government to pass orders blocking the offending websites.
The Court added that the observations in its interim order are prima facie opinions.
"Whether merchandise in which the image is itself the product falls within the right of publicity will be examined at the hearing," the Court added.
The matter will be heard next on December 10.
Advocates Pravin Anand, Dhruv Anand, Ameet Naik, Dhananjay Khanna and Bhavya Verma appeared for Sanon.
Advocates Mamta Rani Jha, Rohan Ahuja, Shruttima Ehersa and Manisha Singh appeared for Google.
Advocates Amee Rana, Sana Banyal and Intisar Aslam appeared for X (formerly Twitter).
[Read order]