The Bombay High Court has intervened to provide interim protection to actor Akshay Kumar from the unauthorized use of his image, voice, likeness, mannerisms, and other attributes through AI-generated deepfake content. The court has ordered removal of certain infringing online material and restrained unidentified parties and e-commerce platforms from further exploitative use of his persona.
Akshay Kumar’s petition alleged large-scale misuse of his identity through synthetic images and videos, including deepfakes depicting him making inflammatory statements. He pointed to instances where a manipulated trailer circulated falsely representing him in a political role, as well as a feature marketed as “AI Akshay Kumar V2 Voice” that generated speech in his tone from user input. The petition also challenged unauthorized sales of merchandise, fake endorsements, and creation of accounts impersonating him on social media. The actor argued that the deceptive and morphing content was so realistic it was difficult to distinguish from genuine material, posing grave risks to his reputation, personal safety, and public order.
A single-judge bench of Justice Arif S. Doctor granted an ad-interim order restraining these violations and ordered prompt takedown of specified infringing links. The court recognized that being a public figure, Akshay Kumar’s name, “Akshay Kumar,” his screen identity, and identifiable attributes have become uniquely recognizable to the public. The court noted that the parent statute and legal principles permit protection of personality and publicity rights against unauthorized commercial exploitation.
Justice Doctor observed the irreversible harm potential from deepfake content, including the risk that viewers may wrongly ascribe statements or actions to Kumar that he never made, and that such misuse can mislead the public and damage trust. The court directed that unknown persons styled as “John Doe” and implicated websites must cease their infringing activity, noting that the issued order is necessary in the larger public interest to forestall further harm.
While the order is interim, it underscores the judiciary’s acknowledgment of new challenges posed by AI and deepfake technologies, and the need to evolve legal protection for public personalities in the digital age. The relief granted ensures that until a fuller hearing, Akshay Kumar’s personality rights receive protection from ongoing unauthorized exploitation.
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