Delhi HC to protect Allu Arjun's persona from AI misuse, unauthorised merch

A single-judge Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, after hearing the suit filed by the actor alleging unauthorised commercial exploitation of his identity, indicated that an interim order would be passed to restrain the misuse of his personality traits, including his name, voice, and likeness, without his consent.

During the hearing, Justice Gedela initially questioned the maintainability of the plea before the Delhi High Court, remarking on the geographical distance between the national capital and the actor's home state of Telangana.

In response, counsel appearing for Arjun submitted that the alleged infringement was taking place across the country through digital platforms, thereby justifying the invocation of jurisdiction.

Senior advocate Swathi Sukumar, representing the actor, argued that the scale and nature of misuse were alarming, particularly with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools. She apprised the Delhi High Court of instances involving unauthorised sale of merchandise, circulation of obscene content, and the use of AI-generated likenesses of the actor.

The senior counsel also referred to a mobile application, which allegedly enables users to interact with an AI-generated version of Arjun through video calls. She cautioned that such tools could potentially be misused for fraudulent activities by impersonating the actor.

During the hearing, the Delhi High Court was also informed that certain defendants had acted upon receiving the plaint.

On the issue of the scope of relief, counsel for intermediaries urged the single-judge Bench to refrain from granting a global injunction at this stage, as the issue is presently under consideration before a Division Bench, and Justice Gedela appeared to agree with the submission.

The development comes in a suit seeking an injunction against multiple defendants, including intermediaries and commercial entities, accused of facilitating unauthorised use of the actor's persona for commercial gain.

The Delhi High Court is expected to pass a detailed interim order laying down directions to curb the alleged misuse of Arjun's personality rights across platforms.

The Allu Arjun case adds to a growing list of high-profile personalities invoking their personality and publicity rights before the Delhi High Court. In recent months, former India cricketer and current head coach Gautam Gambhir, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, spiritual leader and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, kathavachak Aniruddhacharya Maharaj, actors Nagarjuna, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan, singer Jubin Nautiyal, film-maker Karan Johar, and podcaster Raj Shamani have secured court protection against the unauthorised use of their identity, likeness, or AI-generated imitations.

- IANS