The Delhi High Court has stepped in to grant interim protection to Telugu actor Allu Arjun against the unauthorized commercial and digital exploitation of his identity, signalling a strong judicial stance against misuse of celebrity likeness in the age of AI. The Court’s intervention comes amid growing concerns over deepfake content, scam-enabled impersonation, and unlicensed merchandise leveraging public figures for profit.
The dispute arose after the actor approached the Court alleging that multiple entities were using his name, image, voice, and persona without consent across platforms, including sale of merchandise, circulation of obscene content, and deployment of AI-based tools. Counsel for the actor highlighted a mobile application that allegedly enabled users to simulate video calls with an AI-generated version of the actor, raising risks of misuse in fraudulent schemes. On the other hand, one of the defendants claimed intermediary status and informed the Court that the disputed content had been taken down upon receiving notice.
The Court, taking note of the material placed before it, indicated that such unauthorized exploitation strikes at the core of personality rights and cannot be permitted unchecked. Emphasising the need for immediate safeguards, the bench directed compliance measures and sought a report within a short timeline, while proceeding to grant interim protection.
The Court’s stance reflects its consistent approach in similar cases, observing in effect that unauthorized use of identity traits “without consent” warrants judicial restraint. Consequently, interim relief was granted in favour of the actor, restraining further misuse.
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