'Truly Alarming': Bombay High Court Flags Realistic Nature Of Deepfakes, Protects Akshay Kumar's Personality Rights

While protecting the personality rights of Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar, the Bombay High Court has expressed concern over the "realistic" nature of deepfake images and videos being created by using Artificial Intelligence (AI).Single-judge Justice Arif S. Doctor in his October 15 order said, in such cases of celebrities seeking protection of personality rights, it is alarming to see that the content created by AI is deceptive and so sophisticated that it would not be possible for anyone to understand if it is fake or genuine. "I must note that what is truly alarming in a number of these cases is the realistic nature of deepfake images/videos that are being created by using AI. 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/videos of the Plaintiff (Akshay Kumar)," Justice Doctor said. The judge noted the submission of Kumar that there were some deepfake videos of him making objectionable comments against Maharishi Valmiki. "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. Apart from violating and affecting the Plaintiff's personality and moral rights, such videos also pose a grave threat to the safety and well-being of the Plaintiff's family members and can also have an adverse and widespread impact on society and public order, which clearly appears to be the agenda of those who create such content," the judge underscored. Hence, 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 judge opined. The judge passed an interim order against unknown entities over a suit filed by Kumar, who has sought a decree of permanent and mandatory John Doe injunction against several unknown entities and social media platforms and also websites, to restrain the continuing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his personality/publicity rights, including his name, screen name "Akshay Kumar", image, likeness, voice, distinctive performance style, mannerisms, and other identifiable attributes.The suit, Kumar stated arises from the large-scale misuse of his persona through AI-generated and deepfake images and videos, counterfeit merchandise, deceptive advertisements, false brand endorsements, and impersonating social media profiles on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and various e-commerce websites.In his order, Justice Doctor, noted, "The fact that the Plaintiff is an individual who is a renowned film actor and public personality is adequately set out in the Plaint. There can be little doubt about the fact that the Plaintiff is a renowned actor and that the Plaintiffs personality including his name, screen name, signature, image, likeness, voice and tone, distinctive performance, appearance, and mannerisms, have become uniquely identifiable with him in the minds of the public."The judge considered the submission that Kumar possesses an inherent and enforceable right to control, protect, and commercially exploit his personality, and that any unauthorised use or misappropriation thereof constitutes not only a violation of his personality/publicity rights but also his fundamental rights, as enshrined under the Constitution of India. "Hence, in my view, a case for granting the Plaintiff ex-parte ad interim relief is made out. Given the gravity and potential for irreversible harm and injury, as apparent from what is set out above, I find that the grant of injunction would be defeated by the delay of issuing notice, and thus, the present case warrants the immediate grant of ex parte interim reliefs," the judge said while protecting his personality rights.Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Truly Alarming': Bombay High Court Flags Realistic Nature Of Deepfakes, Protects Akshay Kumar's Personality Rights

Narsi Benwal

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