Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor has achieved a significant legal victory in safeguarding his personality rights, including his name, image, likeness, voice, and other attributes, against potential misuse by artificial intelligence (AI).
Kapoor filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court through his lawyer, Ameet Naik, seeking protection for his personality rights and presenting instances of their misuse, particularly on digital media platforms.
Following a detailed hearing, the Delhi High Court issued an order on Wednesday acknowledging Kapoor's personality rights and imposing restrictions on all parties from utilizing his personality attributes without his explicit permission, regardless of the medium or mode, on a global scale.
Expressing his satisfaction with the court's decision, Kapoor highlighted the importance of this ruling for not only himself but also for other actors.
He emphasized the rapid evolution of AI technology, which could potentially exploit and misuse his image, voice, morphing, GIFs, and deep fakes for commercial purposes.
Kapoor's victory enables him to promptly address any such misuse by issuing court orders and injunctions.
Kapoor's motivation for pursuing this legal protection stemmed from the proliferation of morphed videos and emojis featuring his likeness, as well as the iconic phrase "jhakaas," which he introduced in the 1985 film "Yudh."
The court order now safeguards this phrase, signifying 'awesome' or 'wicked,' from misuse.
The actor stressed that his intent was not to hinder freedom of expression or penalize anyone but rather to secure his personality rights in an era of rapidly evolving technology, including AI.
Kapoor, who is represented by David Unger at Artist International Group in Hollywood, expressed his support for fellow actors participating in the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike against AI misuse.
Kapoor recently attended the Toronto Film Festival, where the film "Thank You for Coming," produced by him and featuring his cameo appearance received an enthusiastic reception.
The film's team obtained special permission to showcase Indian cultural elements on the red carpet, transforming the event into a celebration of Indian cinema and culture.
