Kartik Aaryan secures major legal win in Personality Rights battle

At a time when digital identities are under threat, Kartik Aaryan has succeeded in ensuring the protection of his personal brand. As per reports, the Bombay High Court has conveyed its intention of passing an order to remove the material available on the internet violating the personality rights of the actor. This is indeed a turning point for the actor in his battle against the unauthorised exploitation of his identity.

Bombay HC to pass order to take down content violating Kartik Aaryan’s Personality Rights

As reported, Justice Sharmila Deshmukh has conveyed her intention to provide protection to Kartik following the concerns raised by his lawyer regarding the “scandalous” nature of using his identity. The legal representatives of Kartik, including Senior Counsel Birendra Saraf, stated that the actor’s name, pictures and videos created using AI technology have been misused through different media channels without any prior permission from him. This includes the production of unauthorised products to making videos using the deepfake method, which affects the actor’s professional career.

A personality right allows people to retain control over the commercial exploitation of their distinctive features like their signature, voice, and image. For an actor of Kartik’s stature, it would also involve trademarking. The lawsuit targets several Indian and international e-commerce giants, social media intermediaries and unidentified ‘John Doe’ defendants who have allegedly profited from his image.

Kartik now becomes part of an exclusive group of Bollywood celebs, alongside stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Karan Johar, to make such a demand through legal avenues. The case comes on the heels of yet another landmark judgment that specifically curtails the usage of AI technology to duplicate the legendary voice of Asha Bhosle.

With a formal order imminent, one can expect platforms to act quickly in removing the offending content once pointed out. Not only does this give Kartik some security from digital piracy but also creates a strong precedent in terms of addressing new-age issues related to identity theft using artificial intelligence in India.

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