The Delhi High Court has granted actor Vijay Sai Deverakonda an interim injunction restraining the unauthorised use of his personality attributes through AI-generated deepfakes, impersonation accounts and merchandise bearing his name or image. Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the order on October 8, restraining the defendants and other persons covered by the order from exploiting the actor’s identifiable attributes without his consent. The court also directed social media platforms to remove specified content and ordered e-commerce marketplaces, domain name registrars and government authorities to act against identified listings and websites.
The order follows Deverakonda’s allegations that online accounts, websites and third-party sellers were using his identity for commercial gain, as well as circulating AI-generated and manipulated videos depicting him in obscene and derogatory scenarios. The injunction will operate until the next date of hearing on February 2, 2027.
Court directs platforms, marketplaces and government agencies to remove infringing content: The court’s directions cover 94 URLs identified in an annexure to the order. The directions include:
- Meta, Google and X: Must “remove, disable access to, and permanently take down” the identified content, including videos, reels, posts, accounts and channels that allegedly use or imitate Deverakonda’s persona.
- Flipkart, Amazon, Meesho and Redbubble: Must remove the specified marketplace URLs within 72 hours of receiving the order. They must file compliance affidavits within two weeks.
- Domain name registrars: Defendants 9 to 16 must lock or suspend the specified domains within 72 hours of receiving the order. They must also file compliance affidavits within two weeks.
- MeitY and DoT: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) must direct internet and telecom service providers to block or remove access to the listed websites within 72 hours. They must file compliance affidavits within two weeks.
The 72-hour deadline expressly applies to the marketplaces, domain name registrars and government directions; the clause concerning Meta, Google and X does not specify the same deadline.
AI-generated deepfakes: The injunction extends beyond the specific URLs listed in the order. The court restrained the defendants and other persons covered by the direction from violating Deverakonda’s personality rights through the unauthorised use of his name, initials, voice recordings, signatures, fashion style, photographs, movie stills, performances and other identifiable attributes.
The order specifically lists “Artificial Intelligence, Generative Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep-Fakes, Face Morphing, Graphic Interchange Formats (GIFs)” among the technologies covered. It applies across physical and virtual media, including websites, mobile applications, the metaverse and social media, where the actor’s attributes are used without his consent or authorisation.
The court also considered allegations that AI-generated, morphed and manipulated videos depicted Deverakonda in obscene, vulgar and derogatory situations. It found that the material identified in the annexure included unauthorised commercial use of his name, image and distinctive attributes, as well as URLs containing abusive, obscene and vulgar content.
The injunction addresses future unauthorised use as well. The restraint applies “till the next date of hearing”. The court separately stated: “if the plaintiff comes across any infringing post/video in future, it will be open to the plaintiff to bring the same to the notice of the respective intermediary and/or take recourse to legal remedy, as advised.”
The court also recognised the potential for mistaken blocking. It said that a website or social media account that was “not primarily an infringing website” could approach the court with an undertaking that it did not intend to infringe the actor’s personality rights. The court would then consider modifying the injunction.
Commercial value of personality rights recognised: The court found that Deverakonda had made out a prima facie case for protection of his personality rights. It observed that his stature “inherently grants him proprietary rights over his personality and associated attributes” and gives him “the exclusive rights to use the personality attributes for commercial purposes”.
The court said this protection also extended to offensive content that could tarnish his reputation and goodwill. It referred to material that was “abusive, vulgar and profane” and said such content “should also be taken down”.
It held that Deverakonda had a “prima facie, strong case” and that the balance of convenience favoured him. It added: “The apprehension of dent and damage to the image and personality of the plaintiff, prima facie, appears to be real and present.”
However, the court declined to grant an interim injunction against passing off based on the colloquial name “Rowdy” alone. It said the plaintiff would need to establish that the expression had acquired distinctiveness and a secondary meaning exclusively associated with him. The court clarified that using an AI-generated or morphed image of Deverakonda alongside “Rowdy” would fall within the ambit of a personality-rights violation.
Also read:
- Celebrities can’t use personality rights to block coverage of wrongdoing: Delhi HC in Janhvi Kapoor case
- Delhi HC to clarify personality rights through Janhvi Kapoor, Aaradhya Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi suits
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