The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to Aman Gupta, an entrepreneur and judge on “Shark Tank India,” against various entities exploiting his personality rights and trademarks without authorization. This includes misuse through unapproved merchandise, AI-generated content, fake social media accounts, and deceptive commercial listings. The court issued an ex parte ad interim injunction after Gupta filed a commercial suit, citing infringement of his personality and publicity rights.
In response to Gupta’s claims, the court highlighted instances of unauthorized commercial endorsements, fake event bookings, sale of merchandise featuring Gupta’s slogans and likeness, AI chatbot impersonations, circulation of objectionable content, and fake Instagram profiles using his identity. Gupta, known for co-founding boAt and establishing OFF/BEAT, emphasized the goodwill and commercial value associated with his name, image, voice, mannerisms, and registered slogans like “Hum Bhi Bana Lenge” and “Down, but not out.”
Justice Gedela acknowledged Gupta’s significant public profile as an entrepreneur, investor, public speaker, and TV personality, particularly due to his involvement in “Shark Tank India” for five seasons. The court noted extensive misuse of Gupta’s persona and trademarks on digital platforms. It emphasized the exclusive nature of Gupta’s personality traits and trademarks, cautioning against the creation and dissemination of sexually explicit and AI-generated deepfake content using Gupta’s identity.
The Delhi High Court’s order prohibits the unauthorized use of Gupta’s name, image, voice, videos, GIFs, and contact details, as well as any aspect of his persona through AI and deepfake technologies. It also bars the infringement of Gupta’s registered trademarks and the misrepresentation of goods or services as endorsed by him. Additionally, Google LLC and other platform-related defendants must remove or block infringing content and disclose information about identified impersonating accounts.
