Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar approaches Bombay HC seeking protection of personality rights

The court will pass an order on the interim application in a commercial intellectual property rights infringement suit by Kumar that sought direction to restrain “extensive and ongoing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his personality and publicity rights. They include his name (Akshay Hari Om Bhatia), screen name ‘Akshay Kumar’, image, likeness, voice, distinctive performance style, mannerisms, and other persona or identifiable attributes”. Kumar has sought direction to social media platforms and websites, and others, including John Doe (all unknown persons),

The actor has alleged “large-scale misuse” of his persona through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated and deep fake images and videos, deceptive advertisements, counterfeit merchandise, false brand endorsements, among others on social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, and e-commerce platforms. He said such action caused “irreparable harm” to his goodwill and reputation.

Senior advocate Birendra Saraf for Kumar argued that the infringed content has “serious consequences” not only to him but also to his family and the public at large. Saraf referred to an instance of a manipulated trailer of a movie falsely depicting him as portraying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a movie in which he had no role, and said such a video received nearly 2 million views and was removed only after grievances were raised.

The plaintiff also referred to another fake movie trailer made using deep fake videos of Kumar and said that he had to issue a clarification that he had nothing to do with the said trailer.

Saraf also raised grievances about the website, which hosted an “AI Akshay Kumar V2 Voice” feature that would generate speech in Kumar’s tone and style when one enters the text.

The lawyer referred to products being sold in Kumar’s name without his authorisation, along with fake accounts created in his name, and also argued that deepfake videos were difficult to identify as they were also circulated through the dark web.

“The pattern of deception and impersonation creates an imminent and continuing risk of consumer confusion and fraud. Each day that such content or listings remain accessible, more individuals are misled into believing that the plaintiff has endorsed or is associated with them,” the plea stated and sought urgent interim relief.

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