Bombay High Court protects Akshay Kumar’s personality rights

The Bombay High Court has granted actor Akshay Kumar urgent interim protection over his personality rights, restraining social-media platforms, e-commerce sites, and AI content creators from using his name, image, likeness and voice without authorization [Akshay Kumar Vs John Doe]..Single-judge Justice Arif S Doctor observed that the “realistic nature of deepfake images and videos” created with AI was “deeply concerning”, adding that such fabrications not only violated Kumar’s personality and moral rights but also posed a “grave threat” to public order and the safety of his family“The deepfake video of the Plaintiff making communally inflammatory statements and statements about Rishi Valmiki is deeply concerning. The consequences that can arise from such content being disseminated are indeed most grave and serious... such content needs to be removed from the public domain immediately, not only in the interest of the Plaintiff but also in the larger public interest,” the Court said..Kumar filed the commercial IP suit seeking to restrain unauthorised exploitation of his personality across digital platforms.The suit invoked Article 21 of the Constitution and the Copyright Act of 1957 to assert his right to privacy, dignity and moral rights. The actor, who has used the screen name “Akshay Kumar” throughout his 35-year film career, argued that deepfakes and AI impersonations had caused serious harm to his reputation and public standing.Among the cited instances were AI-generated videos falsely portraying Kumar as Maharishi Valmiki and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, which had gone viral online and led to public outrage.In one video titled “Maharshi Valmiki – Teaser Trailer | Akshay Kumar as Valmiki”, the Court recorded that Kumar’s likeness was superimposed onto dramatic scenes without his knowledge, involvement or consent. The “=deceptively realistic nature of the video misled the public into believing it was genuine, leading to protests in Jalandhar after members of the Valmiki community found the portrayal of their revered saint “deeply offensive. Thus, he was wrongfully implicated in communal disharmony, it was contended. Another fabricated trailer falsely showed him playing Yogi Adityanath, garnering over 20 lakh views online. Kumar submitted that such misuse not only infringes upon his right of publicity but also damages his professional reputation, undermines the goodwill built over his career, and harms his genuine upcoming film projects..Justice Doctor observed that the realistic nature of AI-generated deepfakes made them nearly indistinguishable from genuine footage and was therefore, particularly dangerous.“Both in the context of images and videos, the morphing is so sophisticated and deceptive that it is virtually impossible to discern that the same are not genuine images or videos of the Plaintiff,” the Court noted. Such fabrications violated Kumar’s moral and personality rights besides posing “a grave threat to the safety and well-being of his family members and having an adverse and widespread impact on society.”The Court held that Kumar’s name, voice, image and mannerisms were uniquely identifiable with him and therefore, protectable facets of his persona.Thus, it issued an ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining defendants, including several online intermediaries and e-commerce sellers, from using or imitating Kumar’s name, voice, likeness, or image in any form including deepfakes, AI-generated content and merchandise.It further directed Meta (Instagram, Facebook), X Corp (Twitter), and Google to remove infringing content within one week, and to act on future complaints of misuse. Flipkart, Etsy, and Redbubble were ordered to delete listings of unauthorised merchandise, while domain registrars were told to disclose details of AI-related sites using the actor’s identity.The Court will next hear the case next on November 12..Kumar was represented by Senior Advocate Birendra Saraf with advocates Janay Jain, Monisha Mane Bhangale, Bijal Vora and Chandragupta Patil from Parinam Law Associates..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.