The Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Vivek Oberoi, restraining multiple defendants and unidentified John Does from misappropriating his personality and publicity rights, through physical merchandise, social media, websites, and AI-generated content.
The suit was instituted, alleging unauthorised commercial exploitation of the plaintiff’s persona, including the sale of posters, postcards, merchandise, and the circulation of AI-morphed videos, deepfakes, and misleading social-media content, falsely suggesting endorsement or association. The plaintiff asserted exclusive personality and publicity rights, grounded in his long-standing career in cinema, entrepreneurial ventures, and public goodwill, and sought urgent protection against irreparable reputational harm.
While considering the application for interim relief, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela examined the material placed on record, observed that the plaintiff had made out a strong prima facie case, noting that his personality attributes are distinctive, exclusively identifiable, and closely associated with him in public perception. The Court held that unauthorised use of such attributes, particularly through AI tools like deepfakes and face-morphing, squarely infringes personality and publicity rights.
The Court further found that the balance of convenience lay in favour of the plaintiff and that failure to grant immediate relief would result in irreparable injury, which could not be compensated in monetary terms, given the scale and speed of digital dissemination. Emphasising the evolving threat posed by generative AI, the Court held that an ex-parte ad-interim injunction was necessary to effectively curb present and future infringing content.
Accordingly, the Court restrained defendants nos. 1 to 18, and John Does from creating, hosting, publishing, selling, or disseminating any content or products exploiting the plaintiff’s persona by any means, including AI-based technologies. Certain intermediary defendants were also directed to take down the infringing links within 72 hours and furnish relevant subscriber and IP details.
Appearances:
For the Plaintiff – Ms. Sana Raees Khan, with Mr. Pranay Chitale, Mr. Udayvir Rana, Mr. Aditya Dutta, and Mr. Dhawesh Pahuja, Advocates
For the Defendants – None
