Delhi grants Sanon interim relief over personality rights

According to LiveLaw, the Delhi High Court granted actor Kriti Sanon interim protection against alleged misuse of her name, image and voice, including through AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic voice models. In the proceedings against BBE Marketing Inc and others, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav explained that the order preserves the parties’ rights pending further consideration. The legal questions will be decided on their merits after the defendants contesting the claims have been heard.

The central distinction is that “personality rights” describe separate interests and claims, each with its own requirements, defences and remedies. Grouping them under one label does not lower the applicable thresholds for protection. The right of publicity protects the commercial value of identity and can be licensed, while privacy, dignity and reputation remain personal interests that cannot be assigned. Fame affects an identity’s commercial value and any resulting loss, but is not a condition for protection. Merely using another person’s identity is not, by itself, unlawful.

A claimant must identify the claims and supporting material for each defendant and each item of content, rather than obtain a blanket injunction simply by invoking personality rights. The order excludes news, reviews, criticism, commentary, satire, parody, caricature and fan expression that fall outside its specific directions. The order itself has not been directly consulted, so the precise scope of the measures remains subject to independent verification.