Stories
Vijay Deverakonda Wins Delhi High Court Protection Against AI Deepfakes and Unauthorized Identity Use
- •Justice Vikas Mahajan of the Delhi High Court has restrained the unauthorized use of Vijay Deverakonda's name, face, voice, and personal attributes without his permission.
- •Major platforms including Meta, Google, and X are directed to permanently remove flagged content, videos, and accounts within 72 hours of receiving the order.
- •The protection order comprehensively covers his full name variations, initials VD, voice recordings, signatures, fashion style, and movie stills.
- •The court observed that Vijay made a strong prima facie case for protecting his personality rights, noting that his concerns about image damage are genuine.
Key Questions Answered
Justice Vikas Mahajan restrained the unauthorized use of Vijay Deverakonda's name, face, voice, and other personal attributes, ordering Meta, Google, X, and online marketplaces to remove identified infringing content within 72 hours.
The court refused to grant an ex-parte interim injunction against the standalone use of the word 'Rowdy' on passing off grounds, noting that evidence is required to prove the word exclusively associates with Vijay. However, using it alongside an AI-generated or morphed image of the actor still violates his personality rights.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications were directed to instruct internet and telecom service providers to block access to the listed websites within 72 hours, with compliance affidavits due in two weeks.
