(Deep)Fake it till you make it? Bollywood celebrities won't hear of it

An increasing number of Bollywood celebrities are turning to the Copyright Act and the Information Technology Act to prevent abuse of their personality rights through generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly deepfakes, in the absence of specific laws to combat this escalating concern.

Legal experts say the proliferation of deepfakes, a type of generative AI, poses significant threats to the personality rights of celebrities. Deepfake content, generated by AI, appears genuine but is entirely fabricated.

In a landmark intellectual property rights (IPR) case involving singer Arijit Singh, the Bombay High Court recently granted an ad-interim exparte injunction against multiple defendants, including Codible Ventures LLP, for the unauthorised use of AI and voice-cloning technologies to replicate the singer's voice.


Indian courts have similarly issued injunctions in cases filed by celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Karan Johar, aimed at protecting their personality rights. These rulings recognised their celebrity status and prohibited defendants from using their voice, image, likeness, or other personal attributes without permission.

Alpana Srivastava, partner at Desai & Diwanji, observed a growing trend of cases where Bollywood celebrities are looking to protect their IPR from deepfakes and AI exploitation. She pointed out that India lacks sufficient laws to address the issue of deepfakes, with only Sections 66(c) and 66(d) of the IT Act 2000 covering identity theft and cheating by impersonation using computer resources.

"Deepfakes can infringe on performers' rights if manipulated content reproduces an artist's performance through fake means," Srivastava explained.

Sidharth Chopra, practice lead in telecom, media, and technology at Saikrishna & Associates, said AI-generated voices and likenesses can also lead to issues under the Copyright Act.

"The legal challenges brought by AI disruption will have to be addressed by courts using existing IPR laws until new legislation is introduced," he added.

The Indian government is reportedly planning to address the rising threat of deepfake content through the proposed Digital India Bill, which will replace the IT Act 2000. Globally, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed regulations for tackling deepfake content.

Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) has partnered with AI platform Vermillio to safeguard creators from intellectual property theft and assist them in monetising their image and likeness. The agency, which represents Hollywood stars like Ben Affleck and Jessica Alba, also manages Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt.

Ankita Singh, managing partner of Sarvaank Associates, stressed on the need for strong IP protection to prevent digital abuse. She suggested that counter-technologies, blockchain, cybersecurity, and trace-and-track models could play a crucial role in addressing the threat posed by deepfakes.

Srivastava said there is a need to develop legal and technological infrastructure to effectively battle AI-assisted deepfakes.

"Stricter accountability must be imposed on social media platforms that enable AI-assisted fakes, alongside robust systems for detecting and removing such content," she said.