The Delhi High Court has passed an order protecting the personality rights of Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi in the matter titled Vivek Anand Oberoi vs Collector Bazar & Ors. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela has banned the commercial use of Oberoi’s name, voice, image, likeness or any other aspects of his persona for commercial gain without his approval.
As per media reports, the Court has stated that elements of Oberoi’s personality cannot be used without consent through any technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), machine learning, deepfakes and face morphing.
The order has been passed in a suit filed by Oberoi seeking injunction against certain websites and entities that have allegedly impersonated him, sold unauthorised merchandise, and created derogatory AI-generated content and deepfakes. In the plaint, Oberoi has sought an omnibus order against all such persons found to be infringing his rights and has stated that such activities have caused loss of goodwill, business and reputation.
He has also sought protection of the moral rights in his film performances under the Copyright Act and has stated that his name, Vivek Oberoi, is protectable as a trademark.
After considering the case, the Court has ruled that Oberoi is a renowned actor and philanthropist and has exclusive rights over his personality attributes such as image, voice and name. It has observed that his reputation has established goodwill and that a strong prima facie case exists, with the balance of convenience favouring him, as denial of the injunction would have caused irreparable reputational harm.
The Court has therefore passed the order protecting his personality rights. Advocates Sana Raees Khan, Pranay Chitale, Udayvir Rana, Aditya Dutta and Dhawesh Pahuja have appeared for Vivek Oberoi.
