Why in the news?
Delhi high court recently protected personality rights of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev from being misused via AI by websites and platforms.
More on the News
- HC emphasized on growing misuse of AI tools that can clone voices with astonishing accuracy; generate deepfakes that mimic facial expressions etc. thus exploiting personality rights.
- This poses risks not only to reputation and privacy but also to the economic interests of public figures, as their personas are often used to endorse products or causes.
About Personality Rights
- Personality rights refer to the right of an individual to control the unauthorized use of their personal attributes like Name, Image, voice, Likeness and Distinctive expressions or traits.
- These rights include both commercial and non-commercial aspects.
- Personality rights are not expressly mentioned in any statute in India.
- Components of Personality Rights:
- Right to publicity: Right to protect one's image and likeness from being commercially exploited without permission.
- It is partially and indirectly governed by statutes like Trademarks Act, 1999 and Copyright Act, 1957.
- Right to privacy: Right to not have one's personality represented publicly without permission.
- It is broadly governed under Article 21 of the Constitution and through the Supreme Court judgment in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) Case (2017).
- Right to publicity: Right to protect one's image and likeness from being commercially exploited without permission.
- Posthumous Personality Rights in India: There is no specific statutory recognition protecting Posthumous Personality Rights.
- However, Emblems Act, 1950 prohibits commercial use of images of Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister.
- Deepa Jayakumar v. AL Vijay (2019) Judgment: Personality right, reputation or privacy enjoyed by a person during his lifetime comes to an end after his or her lifetime.
Important Judicial pronouncements on Personality rights in India
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Conclusion
The absence of a specific legislation and inadequate protection under the IP laws constitutes a major challenge in enforcement of Personality rights. A comprehensive legal framework and empowerment of government agencies to actively monitor and block AI-generated impersonation is need of the hour.
