Akshay Kumar joins the bandwagon as he too moves the Bombay High Court seeking protection of his personality rights. This update comes after the court passed an injunction order protecting Hrithik Roshan’s rights. Akshay’s suit seeks to restrain the ongoing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his personality and publicity rights, including his name.
Akshay Kumar seeks protection of rights
As per reports in India Today, the bench of Justice Arif Doctor was hearing a suit filed by actor Akshay Kumar, also known as Akshay Hari Om Bhatia, seeking protection of his personality rights. Senior advocate Dr Birendra Saraf, appearing for Kumar, added, “This is not just about him and his family but also about the public at large. Many times, damage may occur even before clarifications are issued.”
Kumar’s suit seeks to restrain the ongoing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his personality and publicity rights, including his name, screen name “Akshay Kumar,” image, likeness, voice, distinctive performance style, mannerisms, and other identifiable attributes. The suit arises from the large-scale misuse of Kumar`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, thereby necessitating the present action,” the suit stated.
Other celebs who approached the court
The ongoing case is part of a broader trend among Indian celebrities to seek legal protection in the courts to safeguard their digital and personal rights amid the growing misuse of AI and deepfake technology. In recent months, the Delhi High Court has granted similar protection orders to Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan, noting that AI-generated impersonation poses a serious threat to creative and moral ownership.
On the work front for Akshay, the actor has a slew of films in his kitty. He will next be seen in Priyadarshan’s Bhooth Bangla, Haiwaan, Welcome To The Jungle, Hera Pheri 3, among many others.