By Editor
In a significant move to protect the rights of Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, the Delhi High Court issued an interim ‘John Doe’ order. This order aims to prevent any unauthorized use of Kapoor’s image and persona for commercial purposes, including on social media platforms and e-commerce websites.
Justice Prathiba M Singh, presiding over the case, has made several crucial rulings and observations:
- The court order prohibits unauthorized entities from exploiting Anil Kapoor’s name, voice, image, or dialogue for commercial gains through illegal means. This also includes preventing the creation of merchandise, ringtones, or any other products using Kapoor’s persona without proper authorization.
- Recognizing the potential misuse of artificial intelligence tools to manipulate Kapoor’s image, the court has extended its restrictions to the use of his likeness in GIFs for monetary purposes or any other commercial activities that could infringe upon his rights.
- To enforce these measures, domains like Anilkapoor.com have been ordered to be immediately suspended and blocked.
- Addressing a critical concern raised by Kapoor, the court has directed the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) to issue a blocking order specifically targeting pornographic content that utilizes morphed images of the actor.
Anil Kapoor’s lawsuit was comprehensive, seeking to restrain the unauthorized use of not only his name but also his acronym “AK,” voice, image, and various identifiers associated with him. The actor aimed to halt the unauthorized sale and distribution of products such as keychains, t-shirts, and various forms of audio-visual content, including images, GIFs, and videos.
This interim order follows a similar one issued by the Delhi High Court in a case involving veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan in the previous year. These rulings set a precedent for the protection of celebrity rights in India, emphasizing the importance of respecting and upholding the personal and publicity rights of public figures in an era marked by the influence of artificial intelligence.
