Delhi HC protects actor R Madhavan's personality rights, orders takedown of objectionable content
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Monday protected the personality rights of Bollywood actor R Madhavan by restraining several websites and online platforms from illegally using his name or images for commercial gain without his consent.
The high court also restrained several defendants from using the personality traits of Madhavan through the use of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology and ordered the takedown of certain obscene content uploaded on the Internet. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said she will pass a detailed interim order in the matter.
"Issue injunction qua sale of merchandise qua defendants 1, 3 and 4 of the list and qua defendant 2 on the ground of obscenity," the court said.
Senior advocate Swathi Sukumar, representing the actor, contended that one of the defendants has created a fake movie trailer of Kesari 3 which says this movie is about to come and posted deepfake and AI-generated content in the capacity of Madhavan.
She said the actor had already approached the social media platforms against the infringing material before filing the suit.
This was submitted before the court as the judge recently took a view that individuals seeking urgent takedown of objectionable online content must first approach the social media platforms before directly seeking a judicial injunction.
The court was hearing a plea by Madhavan seeking to protect his personality rights and restrain online platforms from illegally using his name, images and AI-generated inappropriate and sexually explicit content.
The suit relates to misappropriation of various aspects of Madhavan's personality, including his name, image, likeness, persona and voice by the defendants for their commercial gains, without consent.
The right to publicity, popularly known as personality rights, is the right to protect, control and profit from one's image, name or likeness.
Besides Madhavan, the court also heard similar personality rights suits filed by Telugu actor NTR Junior and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and said it would pass detailed interim orders.
Recently, Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her husband Abhishek Bachchan and her mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Ajay Devgn, filmmaker Karan Johar, singer Kumar Sanu, Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, 'Art of Living' founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary and podcaster Raj Shamani also approached the high court seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights. The court granted them interim relief.
Bollywood actor Salman Khan and former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar have also approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of their personality rights.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
