(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Bombay High Court has granted protection to renowned playback singer Asha Bhosle, restricting artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, online marketplaces, and others from cloning her voice or exploiting her image, likeness or other attributes sans authorization.

In the court order, Justice Arif S Doctor ruled that prima facie, the unauthorized use of a celebrity's personality trains-including their voice, name, photos, likenesses, or caricatures-constitutes a violation of their personality rights.

"Making AI tools available to enable the conversion of any voice into that of a celebrity without his/ her permission would constitute a violation of the celebrity's personality rights. Such tools facilitate the unauthorized appropriation and manipulation of a celebrity's voice, which is a key component of their personal identity and public persona," the HC observed, as per a report by Bar and Bench.

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The playback singer had approached the HC against several defendants, including AI company Mayk, Amazon, Flipkart, Google, and an independent artist.

While Mayk had allegedly been offering cloned versions of Bhosle's voice, Amazon and Flipkart had been selling posters and merchandise bearing her likeness sans consent. Google , as the operator of YouTube, was also made party to the lawsuit as AI-generated videos imitating Bhosle's voice had been uploaded on the platform, while the independent artist had been selling apparel with the singer's image.

Bhosle's suit stressed that such misuse undermined her reputation and the goodwill that she had built over her 8-decade-long career, which saw her win numerous accolades, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Vibhushan, and two Grammy nominations.

Observing that the balance of convenience lay entirely in the singer's favour, the HC restrained the defendants from using, exploiting, or misappropriating any attributed related to Bhosle's personality for commercial for personal gain.

In addition, the HC directed all defendants to remove all infringing material and product listings pointed out in Bhosle's complaint and to provide the singer with subscriber or seller information of infringing parties to allow her to pursue further legal remedies.

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