Delhi High Court Restrains AI-Generated Misuse of Actor Nagarjuna's Identity
The Delhi High Court granted interim protection to Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna against unauthorized use of his identity in AI-generated content, pornography, and merchandise. Justice Tejas Karia noted that generative AI models can pick up misleading material from the internet regardless of authenticity, creating long-term reputational risks to public figures.
What happened
Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna filed a plea with the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights against misuse of his identity in digital spaces. Justice Tejas Karia granted ad-interim relief, restraining multiple websites and online platforms from misusing his name, image, and likeness for pornographic content, unauthorised merchandising, and AI-generated material.
Justice Karia observed that once objectionable or misleading material is uploaded on the internet, it can be picked up by generative AI models regardless of its authenticity, posing long-term risks to the reputation of public figures. The petition highlighted YouTube shorts and promotional videos using hashtags linked to Nagarjuna that could be fed into AI training models, multiplying misuse.
Reported impact
Nagarjuna's name, image, and likeness were being misappropriated through pornographic content, unauthorised merchandising, and AI-generated material. The court mandated the removal of reported URLs and identified unauthorized merchandise sellers.
Governance controls
The court granted interim protection by restraining various websites from using the actor's name and likeness without permission, particularly for unauthorized merchandising and pornography. The ruling marked a continuing judicial trend towards upholding celebrity rights in the digital sphere.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.