Kumar Sanu moves Delhi HC seeking protection of personality rights
What's the story
Renowned singer Kumar Sanu has approached the Delhi High Court to protect his personality and publicity rights. The plea, filed through advocates Shikha Sachdeva and Sana Raees Khan, seeks to safeguard his name, voice, vocal style, and technique from unauthorized use by third parties. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora will hear the plea on October 13, reported PTI.
Legal action
Aggrieved by memes, GIFs bringing disrepute to him
Sanu's plea seeks to prevent unauthorized and unlicensed use of his personality rights by third parties. The suit also includes a violation of Sanu's moral rights in his performances under the Copyright Act. The singer is reportedly aggrieved by GIFs, audio, and video recordings of his performances that bring disrepute to him and make him a subject of "unsavory humor."
AI concerns
Content using AI to clone his voice
The singer is also disturbed by content created using artificial intelligence (AI) to clone his voice, vocal style and technique, vocal arrangements and interpretations, and manner of singing. "Such merchandise and audios/videos of the plaintiff generate revenues for the defendants as they are uploaded and streamed on social networking websites...which generate revenue based on the number of clicks or views to a particular image/video," the suit said.
Legal request
Singer seeks protection against unauthorized use
The suit further states, "Such acts also amount to an attempt at false endorsements and passing off and hence must be restrained by an order of injunction by this court." The singer has sought protection against unauthorized/unlicensed use that might create confusion or deception among the public. Sanu's legal action comes after similar pleas filed by Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Suniel Shetty, among others.