Recently, in a landmark move addressing the intersection of intellectual property and artificial intelligence, the Bombay High Court has extended ad-interim protection to legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle, restraining several defendants from unauthorizedly cloning her voice or commercially exploiting her image, likeness, and other personality attributes.
Justice Arif S. Doctor observed, while noting that prima facie, the unauthorized use of a celebrity’s traits constitutes an actionable violation, “Making AI tools available to enable the conversion of any voice into that of a celebrity without his/her permission would constitute a violation of the celebrity’s personality rights. Such tools facilitate the unauthorized appropriation and manipulation of a celebrity’s voice, which is a key component of their personal identity and public persona.”
The plaintiff had approached the Court alleging widespread misuse of her persona across AI platforms, online marketplaces, and digital media. Defendant Mayk Inc was accused of offering AI-generated versions of her voice, while e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart allegedly displayed merchandise bearing her image without authorization. Google LLC was impleaded as the operator of YouTube, where AI-cloned voice recordings imitating Bhosle had been uploaded.
Asha Bhosle emphasized that such exploitation not only eroded her reputation and goodwill built over an 82-year career but also violated her moral rights under Section 38-B of the Copyright Act, 1957. The Court noted her stature as an “eminent and well-known personality” with global recognition, awards including the Padma Vibhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and millions of social media followers.
Granting relief, Justice Arif S. Doctor directed, “Defendant Nos. 1 to 7… be restrained by a temporary order of injunction from utilizing, exploiting and/or violating the Applicant’s Personality Rights and/or Publicity Rights and/or moral rights… by using or exploiting or misappropriating the Applicant’s (i) name ‘Asha Bhosle’, (ii) voice/vocal style and technique… (iii) manner of singing, (iv) photograph, image or likeness, (v) signature, persona and/or any other attributes of her personality, for any commercial or personal gain… including but not limited to through the use of any technology such as AI Voice Models, Artificial Intelligence, Generative Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Face Morphing…”
Additionally, the Court ordered the removal of infringing content and merchandise, directing platforms to furnish subscriber or seller details of violators, including IP logs and payment details, to aid further legal proceedings. While Mayk Inc, Amazon, Flipkart, and other defendants were restrained, Google/YouTube was specifically ordered to take down URLs annexed to the plaint and act promptly on future reports of AI-generated infringing content.
The Court also drew support from earlier rulings, including Arijit Singh v. Codible Ventures LLP and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan v. Aishwaryaworld.com, which recognized the unauthorized exploitation of celebrity attributes through AI as a violation of personality rights.
Finding a strong prima facie case, the Court observed that “the balance of convenience is also entirely in favour of the Applicant/Plaintiff and I am satisfied that if the ad-interim relief is not granted, the Applicant/Plaintiff would suffer irreparable injury.”
The matter is now scheduled for further hearing on October 13, 2025.
Case Title: Asha Bhosle vs. Mayk Inc
Case No: Interim Application (L) No. 30382 of 2025
Coram: Justice Arif S. Doctor
Advocate for Appellant: Advs. Ankit Lohia, Vikram Trivedi, Rashid Boatwalla, Lipsa Unadkat, Garima Jain
Advocate for Respondent: Advs. Charu Shukla, Amishi Sodani
