Resul Pookutty issues public notice; warns those unauthorisedly using his trademarks, name, voice of legal action
Chennai, June 9
Oscar winning sound designer Resul Pookutty on Tuesday issued a public notice in which he asked all individuals and entities that were unauthorisedly using his name, trademarks, photographs, videos, voice, and other intellectual property by falsely claiming association with him and unlawfully monetising such content for commercial gain to stop doing so and warned them of legal action in case they failed to comply with the notice.
Taking to his X timeline to post a copy of the public notice his lawyer had issued on his behalf, Resul Pookutty wrote, "For everyone to know this and comply herewith..."
In the notice, Resul Pookutty's lawyer pointed out that Resul Pookutty was the proprietor and applicant of the trademarks "RESUL POOKUTTY"TM, "CANARIES POST SOUND"TM and "RESUL POOKUTTY FOUNDATION"TM, covered under the Trade Mark Application Nos. 6869840 to 6869847 in Classes 9, 35, 36, 41 and 45.
The lawyer said that it had come to Resul Pookutty's notice that certain individuals, associations, firms, companies, organisations, websites, YouTube channels, social media accounts and other digital platforms were unauthorisedly using his name, trademarks, photographs, videos, voice, likeness, identity and other intellectual property, falsely claiming association with him and unlawfully monetising such content for commercial gain, thereby misleading the public and causing serious prejudice to his reputation and goodwill.
The notice made it clear that except those accounts, websites, channels and platforms officially owned, managed or expressly authorised in writing by Resul Pookutty, no other person or entity had any right or authority to use the names Resul Pookutty, Canaries Post Sound and Resul Pookutty Foundation.
Calling upon all persons and entities, digital platform operators, publishers, broadcasters, intermediaries, content creators, administrators of websites or social media platforms to immediately cease and desist from the unauthorised use of Resul Pookutty's name, identity, trademarks, photographs, videos, voice, likeness, image, signature, personality, reputation and other intellectual property, the notice insisted on the immediate removal of all infringing content.
It also sought the discontinuation of every form of monetisation and commercial exploitation thereof.
"They are further called upon to refrain from creating, publishing, reproducing, communicating, transmitting, distributing or circulating any false, misleading, deceptive, defamatory, manipulated, morphed or unauthorised content, including any Artificial Intelligence (Al) generated content, Generative AI content, deep fake videos, synthetic media, digitally altered or manipulated photographs or videos, voice-cloned or AI-synthesised audio, computer-generated images (CGI), virtual avatars, or any other content or material created or modified using artificial intelligence or similar technologies that uses, imitates, depicts or exploits my client's name, trademarks, identity, voice, likeness, image or personality, or is likely to create a false impression of association, endorsement or authenticity, or which is calculated to tarnish, dilute or adversely affect the reputation, goodwill, personality rights or commercial value attached to the name "RESUL POOKUTTY" or the aforesaid trademarks," the lawyer said in the notice.
The lawyer warned that failure to comply with this notice would constrain his client to initiate appropriate civil, criminal and statutory proceedings before the competent Courts and Authorities.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Very necessary move. These days anyone can use AI to clone a voice or face. Resul Pookutty is a respected artist, and it's sad that people are misusing his identity for money. Hope the legal system takes this seriously.
Good to see celebrities taking control of their digital footprint. But I feel such notices should also address the platforms that host this content. YouTube and social media need to be more proactive in removing such fake profiles.
Absolutely right! The way these fraudsters use someone's image and voice to sell fake products is criminal. Proud of Pookutty sir for taking this step. Its high time we protect our artists from such exploitation. 👏
Valid concern but the notice seems a bit too broad. Some legitimate fan pages or review channels might get caught in the net. Hope they have a clear way to distinguish between genuine and fake accounts. Still, overall good to see celebrities protecting their IP.
Really needed. The way AI has advanced, anyone can create convincing deepfakes. Even I've seen fake ads claiming Resul Pookutty endorses some audio equipment. People need to be aware. Kudos to him for setting a precedent.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.