Bombay HC to pass interim order on Akshay Kumar's plea seeking protection of personality rights

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on an interim relief plea of actor Akshay Kumar in his petition against websites and social media platforms misusing his photographs, videos and name without authority.

Justice Arif Doctor reserved the order after a hearing.

Kumar has moved the HC seeking protection of his personality rights amid the rise of deepfake videos, stating that such content has not only damaged his reputation, but also has huge consequences.

The petition sought to restrain the ongoing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his personality and publicity rights, including his real name, screen name “Akshay Kumar,” image, likeness, voice, distinctive performance style, mannerisms and other identifiable attributes.

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It pointed to large-scale misuse of the actor’s persona through AI-generated and deepfake images and videos, counterfeit merchandise, deceptive advertisements, false brand endorsements, and impersonating social media profiles on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and various e-commerce websites.

“These acts cause grave and irreparable harm to the plaintiff’s goodwill and reputation, dilute his personality and publicity rights, mislead the public, and amount to passing off, unfair competition, and unjust enrichment,” the suit stated.

The actor’s plea came days after the court passed interim orders granting relief to veteran singer Asha Bhosle and actor Suniel Shetty, who had sought similar reliefs.

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