The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on an interim relief plea filed by actor Akshay Kumar, seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights against unauthorised use of his name, images and AI-generated deepfake content across websites and social media platforms.
Justice Arif Doctor reserved the order after hearing arguments in the matter.
Kumar approached the High Court alleging that his photographs, videos and name were being widely misused without consent. He highlighted the growing menace of deepfake videos and AI-generated content, stating that such acts have not only damaged his reputation but also have “huge consequences” for the public and brands associated with him.
The petition seeks to restrain ongoing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his persona, including his real name, screen name “Akshay Kumar,” image, likeness, voice, distinctive performance style, mannerisms, and other identifiable attributes.
The plea points to rampant misuse of the actor’s persona through deepfake videos, counterfeit merchandise, deceptive advertisements, false brand endorsements, and impersonating social media profiles. It names platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and various e-commerce websites as avenues where this unauthorised content is being circulated.
“These acts cause grave and irreparable harm to the plaintiff’s goodwill and reputation, dilute his personality and publicity rights, mislead the public, and amount to passing off, unfair competition, and unjust enrichment,” the suit states.
Kumar’s plea comes shortly after the Bombay High Court granted interim relief to veteran singer Asha Bhosle and actor Suniel Shetty in separate cases where they sought protection of their personality rights against similar misuse and deepfake content.
The court has now reserved its order on Akshay Kumar’s interim relief application.
