Delhi High court issues interim to protect Varun Dhawan’s personality rights

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ordered for removal of AI generated deepfake content and granted interim relief to actor Varun Dhawan that shows him in explicit situations.

The actor has appealed before the court seeking protection of personality and publicity rights. Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on May 29.

While granting the actor interim protection on establishment of a prima facie case, the HC has ordered several websites, social media platforms and e-commerce portals against using objectionable content depicting the actor or utilizing his identity for commercial interests without his approval.

The court said such AI generated photos and pornographic content depicting the actor could damage his image. While saying this, the court has passed the order and said the publicity rights of Varun Dhawan must be preserved.

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Google, Meta and X will also have to produce the Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) of all users involved in uploading/sharing the impugned content. The social media platforms are also directed to remove any new impugned content that might be uploaded by the defendant within 36 hours.

The actor’s counsel and senior advocate Sandeep Sethi informed the court that online retailers are making use of his clients personality traits to endorse and sell goods. He also informed the court that booking agencies were falsely claiming that they are the authorised ones for booking performances and appearances of the actor.

Dhawan sought protection from AI generated deepfakes and vulgar contents depicting the actor in compromising situations with female actresses. His name and signature are also registered trademarks, as stated in the suit, any usage by third parties without authorization amounts to infringement.

Also Read: Varun Dhawan moves Delhi High Court over deepfakes, identity misuse

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