Actor Shruti Haasan has approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection of her personality and publicity rights against the unauthorised use of her name, image and likeness through AI-generated content, deepfakes, fake endorsements and unauthorised merchandise.
The commercial intellectual property suit, came up before Justice Abhay Ahuja, who on Monday granted the actor leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent to institute the proceedings.
The leave was granted as part of the cause of action arose outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court, enabling it to entertain the commercial suit.
Haasan has arrayed several Indian and foreign entities, social media intermediaries and unidentified John Doe defendants as parties to the suit.
One of the defendants, Mahalaxmi Arts and Craft Works, has been accused of selling posters bearing Haasan’s name and photographs on Flipkart without her consent. The suit also names celebrity booking and endorsement platforms, fashion and jewellery websites, as well as major technology companies including Google (YouTube), Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X Corp, and Pinterest.
According to the plaint, these platforms have hosted or facilitated content that unlawfully exploits the actor’s identity. Haasan has alleged that AI-generated videos falsely portray her in romantic relationships with fellow actors, while deepfake technology has been used to create morphed images and sexually explicit content, including fabricated pornographic videos and photographs.
The suit contends that unidentified entities have superimposed her face onto explicit visuals using artificial intelligence tools, causing serious harm to her dignity, reputation and commercial interests.
Seeking protection of her personality and moral rights, Haasan has prayed for permanent injunctions restraining the unauthorised use of her name, image, likeness and other identifying attributes. She has also sought directions for the removal of infringing content, a John Doe injunction against unknown violators, damages and an account of profits allegedly earned through the unauthorised exploitation of her identity.
The plaint states that through her work in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English films, music and brand endorsements, the name “Shruti Haasan” has acquired substantial goodwill and distinctiveness, making it exclusively associated with her in the minds of the public and the trade.
The matter is expected to be mentioned before Justice Madhav Jamdar for consideration of interim relief.
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