Case: Arijit Singh v. Codible Ventures LLP and Othrs
The Bombay High Court recently granted interim relief to singer Arijit Singh in a copyright lawsuit he filed against AI platforms and others for violating his personality rights.
Justice RI Chagla noted that Singh’s traits, including his name, voice, image, likeness, persona, and other attributes, are protectable elements of his personality rights and right to publicity.
The Court stated that converting any voice into that of a celebrity without their permission constitutes a violation of the celebrity's personality rights.
“This form of technological exploitation not only infringes upon the individual’s right to control and protect their own likeness and voice but also undermines their ability to prevent commercial and deceptive uses of their identity."
"These Defendants are attracting visitors / drawing traffic to their websites and/or AI platforms by capitalizing on the Plaintiff’s popularity and reputation, thereby subjecting the Plaintiff personality rights to potential abuse. These Defendants are emboldening internet users to create counterfeit sound recordings and videos that misuse the Plaintiff’s character and identity...Additionally, allowing the Defendants to continue using the Plaintiff’s name, voice, likeness etc. in the form of an AI content, without consent of the Plaintiff, not only risks severe economic harm to the Plaintiff’s life/career, but also leaves room for opportunities for misutilization of such tools by unscrupulous individuals for nefarious purposes."
Singh approached the Court seeking protection for his name, voice, signature, photograph, image, caricature, likeness, and various other attributes of his personality. This action was taken after he discovered that several AI platforms were using sophisticated algorithms to create audio and visual content by mimicking his personality traits. One platform used text-to-speech software that allowed users to convert text into Singh's voice.
The unauthorized use of Singh's traits extended beyond AI platforms. A pub in Bangalore used Singh's name and image to promote an event without authorization. Another defendant was using Singh's photographs on merchandise sold on e-commerce websites, while another had registered domain names using Singh's name (arijitsingh.com).
Singh's counsel argued that the singer has the exclusive right to control and command the use of his personality traits, and that unauthorized commercial use of these traits by the defendants should be restrained to prevent potential tarnishing of his reputation.
Additionally, it was argued that any unauthorized alteration or dissemination of Singh’s performances causing harm to his reputation would violate his moral rights under Section 38-B of the Copyright Act, 1957.
After considering the arguments, the Court found a strong case for granting interim relief to Singh. In the context of freedom of speech and expression of the defendants, the Court stated,
"...even though such freedom allows for critique and commentary, it does not grant the license to exploit a celebrity's persona for commercial gain. In these circumstances, this Court is inclined to protect the Plaintiff against any wrongful exploitation of his personality rights and right to publicity."
Thus, the Court restrained the defendants from using the (i) name “Arijit Singh”, (ii) voice/vocal style and technique/vocal arrangements and interpretations, (iii) mannerism/manner of singing, (iv) photograph, image or its likeness, (v) signature, persona, and/or any other attributes of his personality in any form, without Singh's consent.
The Court also ordered the suspension of URLs bearing Singh's name.
"On the next date, after giving notice to these Defendants, this Court shall consider the Plaintiff’s application to take over these domain names subject to payment of requisite charges," the order stated.
Regarding certain videos showing users
TAGS: Singer Arijit Singh Copyright Relief Plaintiff Consent Bombay High Court
