After Bacchans, Akshay Kumar moves Bombay HC to protect personality rights

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has moved the Bombay High Court to safeguard his personality rights — covering his name, image, voice, and other personal traits — from unauthorised commercial use.

His petition underscores the rising concern among celebrities about the misuse of their identity in ads, online content, and AI-generated material.

Before this, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan initiated legal action against YouTube and its parent company Google, seeking ₹4 crore in damages. The lawsuit followed the appearance of several alleged AI-generated deepfake videos of the couple on the platform.

The petition, filed on September 6, came after a recent Delhi High Court order safeguarding the personality rights of the Bachchans. The couple had requested the removal and permanent ban of videos infringing upon their intellectual property.

The actors aimed to prevent the misuse of their images, likeness, and persona on digital platforms, including any manipulated or inappropriate content.

Abhishek reportedly requested that websites and online platforms be barred from using his image, likeness, persona, or circulating manipulated videos, including any sexually explicit content.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking protection of her personality rights on September 9, highlighting the unauthorised use of her name, images, and public persona on digital platforms and commercial products.

(with inputs from syndicated feed)