On February 5, 2026, the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of Bollywood actor and entrepreneur Vivek Oberoi in a case concerning the protection of his personality rights. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued an order that prohibits the unauthorized commercial exploitation of Oberoi's name, voice, image, likeness, and other elements of his persona. This includes a ban on using AI, Generative AI, machine learning, deepfakes, and face-morphing technologies to create content without his consent.

The court's decision came in response to a suit filed by Oberoi, in which he sought an injunction against various websites and entities that were allegedly infringing upon his personality rights. These infringements included impersonation, the sale of unauthorized merchandise, and the creation of derogatory AI-generated content and deepfakes designed to create "distasteful" images of the actor. Oberoi sought a comprehensive order against anyone found to be violating his rights.

The court observed that Oberoi has rights over his personality attributes, including his image, likeness, voice, name, and signature, which are distinctly and exclusively associated with him. The court directed various entities to remove the infringing content within 72 hours. The High Court also stated that Oberoi's long-standing career and stellar success in films clearly demonstrate his goodwill, reputation and acceptability.

The order specifically addresses the growing concern over the misuse of AI and deepfake technology to create morphed and superimposed images, which Oberoi argued were offensive, inappropriate, and defamatory. He contended that this content had the potential to commercially exploit his identity and undermine his market value.

The court's decision reflects a growing awareness of the need to protect the personality rights of individuals, particularly in the age of rapidly advancing digital technologies. The order not only protects Oberoi's rights but also sets a precedent for similar cases in the future. It underscores the importance of consent when using someone's persona for commercial gain and highlights the potential for harm when these rights are violated.

The High Court noted the large-scale misuse of the actor's personality across social media platforms, e-commerce websites, video-sharing portals, and AI-generated content. The court also directed online platforms, including YouTube, Meta Platforms, and X Corp, to take down the links of all offending articles within 72 hours.