Delhi High Court supports personality rights of Ajay Devgan, orders removal of deepfakes
Following allegations of misuse through commercial merchandise and artificial intelligence, the Delhi High Court has granted interim relief to actor Ajay Devgan, restraining unauthorized use of his personality traits and ordering removal of obscene content.
The Delhi High Court has issued an interim order in favor of actor Ajay Devgan, providing protection to his personality rights. The court has barred several defendants from using Devgan’s images and personal characteristics without his consent. The order also prohibits misuse of their personality through artificial intelligence, deepfake technologies and distribution of obscene material. The decision comes in response to allegations that various parties were exploiting Devgan’s likeness for commercial gain and producing inappropriate content.
according to live lawThe case was brought up before Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora after lawyer Praveen Anand, representing the actor, detailed the nature of the alleged violation. He told the court that the defendants were engaged in creating commercial merchandise including caps, stickers and posters (not movie posters), impersonating actors, creating images showing actors in distasteful ways with other actors, and misusing their personality traits through AI and deepfake technology. The issue of counterfeiting and unauthorized merchandise was of primary concern at the hearing.
During the proceedings, the court asked whether Devgan had filed a complaint with platforms like YouTube or Google regarding the spread of objectionable content.
The court said that although interim relief Devgan today, it will clarify in its order that henceforth, the plaintiff in such cases will have to first register his protest with the social media intermediaries.
The judge further said that though obscene and objectionable material will be directed to be removed, the images which are mere reproductions cannot be ordered to be removed at the interim stage without hearing the party concerned.
Recently, the coordination bench has issued orders protecting the personality rights of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Telugu actor Nagarjuna, Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. Also film producer Karan Johar.