The Delhi High Court has issued an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favor of Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan. This injunction restrains multiple entities from exploiting his name, image, voice, and other attributes without authorization, including through artificial intelligence tools and deepfake technologies.
Justice Jyoti Singh, on a single-judge Bench, granted this interim order in a commercial suit filed by Dhawan. The suit targets various defendants, such as online event-booking platforms, e-commerce websites, and social media accounts, for allegedly misusing his persona.
The court order highlighted the extensive misuse of Dhawan’s personality and publicity rights. It mentioned unauthorized celebrity booking services, sale of merchandise with his name and likeness, dissemination of derogatory content, and creation of AI-generated images and videos portraying him in inappropriate scenarios.
The Delhi High Court acknowledged Dhawan as a renowned Hindi film actor with a career spanning over 14 years. It recognized his substantial goodwill, reputation, and commercial value. The court emphasized the exclusive association of Dhawan’s name, image, voice, and likeness with him, deserving legal protection.
