Delhi HC grants injunction in favour of Allu Arjun in personality rights case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Telugu film star Allu Arjun, restraining multiple entities from unauthorised commercial exploitation of his name, image, voice and other personality attributes, including through artificial intelligence (AI) tools and deepfake technologies.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the interim order in a commercial suit filed by the actor against several defendants, including e-commerce platforms, intermediaries, and entities allegedly hosting objectionable and AI-generated content.

The suit alleged large-scale misuse of the actor’s persona through unauthorised sale of merchandise, dissemination of sexually explicit and derogatory content, and use of AI-based tools to clone his voice and simulate interactions such as “fake calls”.

In its order, the Delhi High Court observed that Allu Arjun is a “well recognised, well respected and commercially successful actor in India”, popularly known as the “Icon Star” of the Telugu film industry, with immense goodwill and reputation built over decades.

The order further recorded his rise from a child artist in “Vijetha” to national prominence through blockbuster films like “Pushpa: The Rise” and its sequel “Pushpa 2: The Rule”, observing that the success of these films and the popularity of his dialogues and mannerisms reflect his “iconic status”.

Justice Gedela said the material on record demonstrated that the actor’s “name, appearance, voice, manner of delivery, dialogues, gestures, attires, speech, signature and likeness” are distinctive attributes exclusively associated with him.

“The overwhelming documentary evidence… clearly demonstrates the stellar career of the plaintiff… The highly popular dialogues and other distinctive attributes also demonstrate the iconic status of the plaintiff,” the Delhi High Court said.

It further recognised that the actor had secured statutory protection through multiple trademark registrations of his name and associated marks, which are entitled to legal protection.

On the issue of infringement, Justice Gedela observed that the defendants were prima facie engaged in unauthorised commercial exploitation and misuse of the actor’s personality rights.

“The plaintiff has been able to prima facie establish a strong case in his favour… The balance of convenience… would tilt in favour of the plaintiff,” the order held.

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It added that denial of interim relief would cause “irreparable loss and injury which may not be compensated in monetary terms”.

The Delhi High Court restrained the defendants and their associates from using or exploiting Allu Arjun’s name, image, voice or any identifiable attributes for commercial or personal gain, including through “Artificial Intelligence, Generative Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deepfakes, Face Morphing” and across digital and physical platforms.

It also restrained the sale of merchandise such as clothing, posters, and other goods bearing his persona without authorisation, and barred the creation or dissemination of AI-generated content mimicking his identity.

Taking note of specific infringing material, the Delhi High Court directed certain defendants to take down identified links and websites within 72 hours. It further ordered intermediaries to block any additional infringing content upon notification by the plaintiff.

During the hearing, one of the defendants submitted that it was merely an intermediary and had already taken down the impugned content upon receiving notice of the suit.

The order directed the filing of a compliance affidavit within three working days.

The Delhi High Court has listed the matter before the Joint Registrar on July 14 for completion of pleadings and before the court on September 24 for further hearing.

The Allu Arjun case adds to a growing list of high-profile personalities invoking their personality and publicity rights before the Delhi High Court. In recent months, former India cricketer and current head coach Gautam Gambhir, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, spiritual leader and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, kathavachak Aniruddhacharya Maharaj, actors Nagarjuna, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan, singer Jubin Nautiyal, film-maker Karan Johar, and podcaster Raj Shamani have secured court protection against the unauthorised use of their identity, likeness, or AI-generated imitations.