Actor and businessman Vivek Oberoi has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his publicity and personality rights, alleging large-scale misuse of his identity through fake social media
accounts, unauthorised merchandise and AI-generated content, including deepfake imagery.
The civil suit, filed against Collector Bazar, ZoomMantra, Indiacontent and Ors, including unidentified parties named as John Doe defendants, seeks a permanent injunction restraining infringement of Oberoi's personality and publicity rights. The suit has been filed through advocates Sana Raees Khan and Pranay Chitale.
According to the petition, Oberoi has asserted that his name, image, voice, likeness and other distinctive attributes exclusively associated with him are being unlawfully exploited for commercial and other gains without his consent or authorisation.
The plaintiff has alleged that such acts amount to infringement of his personality rights protected under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, performer's and moral rights under Sections 38, 38A and 38B of the Copyright Act, 1957, as well as common law rights against passing off, misappropriation and unfair competition.
The plea states that the defendants are engaged in impersonating Oberoi on social media platforms such as Instagram by creating fake accounts using his name and images.
It further alleges that unauthorised merchandise bearing his name and likeness, including posters, T-shirts and postcards, is being sold across various e-commerce platforms.
Importantly, the suit flags the creation and dissemination of AI-generated content that allegedly misrepresents facts and falsely depicts the actor in a derogatory, insulting and demeaning manner. The petition also highlights the use of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology to morph and superimpose Oberoi's face onto objectionable and distasteful imagery.
Oberoi has contended that unchecked use of generative artificial intelligence poses serious risks to personality and publicity rights, leading to public confusion regarding false endorsements, dilution of personal identity, infringement of privacy and erosion of an individual's exclusive right to commercially benefit from their persona.
The petition further submits that such activities are being made available to the public at large, resulting in extensive and unbridled infringement, making it virtually impossible for the actor to identify all infringers individually. In view of this, Oberoi has sought an omnibus 'John Doe' injunction against unknown persons found violating his rights.
Claiming that he has already suffered and is likely to suffer irreparable harm to his goodwill, reputation and business interests, the actor has urged the Court to pass urgent directions. The reliefs sought include removal of unauthorised postcards, posters, videos and social media posts, along with restraining further misuse of his identity in any form.
