The Delhi High Court has issued an interim order protecting the personality rights of actor Arjun Kapoor, prohibiting third parties from the unauthorised use of his name, voice, image, likeness, and other personal attributes. The court’s directive aims to prevent such elements from being exploited for impersonation, merchandise sales, deepfake content creation, and the generation of obscene material.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that the order, passed on April 29 by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, also mandates the removal of any existing infringing content. The court acknowledged Kapoor’s established standing in the film industry, asserting that his distinct persona, including his name, voice, image, photographs, and signature, warrants protection against exploitation.
The court noted that a substantial volume of evidence presented in Kapoor’s lawsuit indicated a clear infringement of his personality and publicity rights. A significant concern highlighted was the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to generate such content, often for illicit financial gains.
Justice Gedela stated that withholding relief at this juncture would lead to irreparable loss and injury for Kapoor, with the potential damage to his reputation being incalculable and unlikely to be fully compensated by monetary damages alone.
The court explicitly condemned the use of AI tools for creating sexually explicit and offensive videos, deeming it a flagrant violation of the actor’s personality and publicity rights. Such vulgar content, the court observed, could cause immeasurable and potentially irreversible harm to his image and reputation. Consequently, the court ordered the immediate takedown of all such material from any platform.
The court further elaborated that the documented infringing activities, as detailed by the plaintiff, demonstrate a deliberate misappropriation of personality and publicity rights exclusively held by Kapoor. It was evident that the defendants were engaging in these actions for unlawful financial gain, unjustly enriching themselves without any authorisation or license from the actor.
In a bid to facilitate the enforcement of its order, the court directed social media giants Meta and Google to disclose the ‘Basic Subscriber Information’ for specific Facebook/Instagram accounts and YouTube channels identified as being involved in the alleged infringements.
This case follows a pattern of similar legal actions brought before the Delhi High Court by public figures seeking protection for their personality and publicity rights. Notably, actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Salman Khan, along with Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, and podcaster Raj Shamani, had previously approached the court and received similar interim relief. More recently, cricketer Gautam Gambhir and actors Sonakshi Sinha, Vivek Oberoi, and Allu Arjun were also granted interim protection for their rights by the same court.
❤️ Support Independent Journalism
Your contribution keeps our reporting free, fearless, and accessible to everyone.
Or make a one-time donation
Secure via Razorpay • 12 monthly payments • Cancel anytime before next cycle
(We don't allow anyone to copy content. For Copyright or Use of Content related questions, visit here.)
The Chenab Times News Desk
