#5 Arijit Singh Vs AI
𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀: Arijit Singh wins case against AI! The Bombay High Court has granted interim relief to singer Arijit Singh in a 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 against AI platforms. Here's what happened:
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: Arijit Singh filed a copyright suit against AI platforms like Jammable, TopMediai etc. seeking protection of his personality rights, including his name, voice, and likeness, against unauthorized commercial exploitation by AI tools.
𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: Justice RI Chagla restrained several online platforms from using Singh's "personality rights" and ordered the removal of content mimicking his voice.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:
- Court recognized celebrities' vulnerability to unauthorized AI-generated content
- Ruled that converting anyone's voice into a celebrity's without permission violates personality rights
- Emphasized that freedom of speech doesn't grant license to exploit a celebrity's persona for commercial gain
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀:
𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆/ 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: This common law right, derived from the right to privacy, protects individuals' control over the commercial use of their identity, including name, image, and likeness.
𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁, 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟳: While not directly applicable to voice imitation, Section 𝟯𝟴-𝗕 of this Act protects performers' moral rights, including the right against distortion or modification of their performances.
𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁: This ruling sets a precedent for how personality rights apply to AI-generated content in India.
Our 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: The Bombay High Court's ruling in Arijit Singh's case aligns with the U.S. Copyright Office's recent recommendation for comprehensive protection against unauthorized deepfakes. Importantly, while this case involved a celebrity, the U.S. Copyright Office recommends that 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀. This approach recognizes that in the age of AI, anyone could be vulnerable to the misuse of their digital likeness.
What are your thoughts on this ruling? How do you think it will affect the AI industry and content creators moving forward?