Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu Wins Court Order to Stop AI Misuse of Identity

Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has won interim protection from the Bombay High Court against the unauthorized use of her name, image, and voice by digital media, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence platforms. Justice Madhav Jamdar heard the personality rights suit on Thursday and ordered the removal of all offending content featuring the actor.

Lawsuit Details

The legal action targets 18 defendants, including unknown infringers, technology platforms, AI developers, digital media companies, e-commerce entities, and government bodies. Samantha sought permanent injunctions, damages, content takedowns, and a John Doe order to pursue unknown parties. The court noted that the materials showed an apparent violation of her publicity and personality rights through non-consensual deepfakes and morphed items.

Legal Basis

Justice Jamdar observed that the actor's rights are protected under Article 19(1)(a) for freedom of speech and expression and Article 21 for life, personal liberty, privacy, and human dignity. Her moral rights as a performer fall under Section 38B of the Copyright Act. Samantha also invoked Section 62 of the Copyright Act and received leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent to address non-resident defendants whose operations reach outside local limits, noting her business and goodwill are based in Mumbai.

Context

Personality rights protect famous individuals from having their likeness, voice, or image used commercially without consent. Courts increasingly handle lawsuits from public figures seeking legal shields against the growing threat of deepfake videos and digital identity theft.