Arijit Singh vs Codible Ventures LLP: Bombay High Court Protects Celebrity Rights Against AI Voice Cloning & Unauthorized Use

In a landmark case, the Bombay High Court granted interim relief to singer Arijit Singh against misuse of his name, voice, and image through AI-based voice cloning, fake videos, and unauthorized merchandise sales. The court ordered removal of infringing content, suspension of related domain names, and disclosure of responsible parties, reinforcing protections for celebrity personality and publicity rights in the digital age.

Facts of the case:

A civil suit was filed before the Bombay High Court by Arijit Singh, one of India’s most well-known playback singers. The legal action was taken to protect his personality rights and publicity rights from being misused by various individuals and entities. A total of 38 Defendants were named in the suit, including AI platforms, YouTube channels, event organizers, merchandise sellers, domain registrars, and unknown persons (referred to as “John Does”).

It was brought to the Court’s attention that several artificial intelligence platforms had been offering tools that allowed users to create audio content in Arijit Singh’s voice. These platforms were found to be cloning his voice using technology known as Real Voice Cloning (RVC). A large set of 456 of Arijit’s songs was reportedly used without permission to train these AI models. Using these tools, any person could convert their own voice or text into a version that sounded like Arijit Singh.

Tutorial videos demonstrating how to misuse Arijit’s voice were uploaded on platforms like YouTube, and were actively promoted by the founders of the AI companies. In these videos, viewers were encouraged to convert songs or speeches into Arijit’s voice using unauthorized AI tools. This not only violated Arijit’s rights but also exploited his popularity for commercial benefit.

Apart from voice cloning, it was shown that unauthorized merchandise featuring Arijit Singh’s name, photographs, caricatures, and image was being sold on various e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, and others. Items like T-shirts, mugs, posters, phone cases, and greeting cards were being offered for sale, all without his consent.

Events were also being falsely advertised using Arijit Singh’s name and image. One such event was hosted by a restaurant in Bengaluru, while another was hosted on a virtual reality platform. In both cases, the public was made to believe that Arijit Singh was performing or endorsing the events, although he was not involved whatsoever.

Two domain names, arijitsingh.com and arijitsingh.in, were found to have been registered by unknown individuals. One of these domains redirected to a third-party commercial website, which had no connection to Arijit Singh. These domain names used his full name without authorization.

GIF-sharing platforms were also used to circulate clips of Arijit Singh’s performances. These short video loops were shared widely without control or oversight, which, according to the Plaintiff, caused embarrassment and loss of dignity. It was stated that these clips were being used for commercial purposes as well.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the Court was urged to issue an urgent ex-parte injunction (temporary order without notice to the Defendants), to prevent further harm and to stop the spread of the infringing content. The Plaintiff also requested that the Defendants be ordered to disclose identities, suspend infringing domain names, and take down all unauthorized content immediately.

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Arguments by Plaintiff:

It was argued that the plaintiff’s identity was said to have been cloned using AI tools, and his voice was replicated through artificial voice models. This was done for commercial gain, which was claimed to be illegal and unethical.

It was argued that tutorial videos had been uploaded online to teach people how to copy Arijit Singh’s voice, using data trained on his actual songs. Over 450 songs sung by him were said to be used to build AI voice models. This was said to violate not only his personality rights but also his moral rights under copyright law.

It was argued that the plaintiff had never allowed or licensed his voice or image to be used in AI models, advertisements, or merchandise.

The Plaintiff claimed that fake events had been promoted using his name, giving the public a false impression that he was performing or endorsing them. Similarly, domain names using his identity had been registered by unknown parties, and were being misused or redirected to unrelated sites.

It was argued that the sale of products like T-shirts, mugs, posters, and GIFs with his face and name took advantage of his fame and damaged his image. It was further stated that such misuse could lead to obscene or disrespectful representations, especially if AI was used to generate inappropriate content in his voice.

Arguments by Defendant:

Since this was an ex-parte hearing so their formal arguments were not recorded.

Findings of the Hon’ble Court:

It was observed that if the Defendants were given notice before the order, the purpose of the Plaintiff’s request could be harmed. Therefore, an ex-parte (without notice) interim order was passed.

The following directions were given:

The Defendants were restrained from using the Plaintiff’s name “Arijit Singh,” voice, singing style, photographs, signature, and other personal features in any way for commercial or personal benefit, without consent.
The Defendants who controlled the domain names arijitsingh.com and arijitsingh.in were ordered to lock or suspend these domains immediately.
The Defendants were required to remove any infringing content identified by the Plaintiff, or at least remove all references to the Plaintiff’s personality from certain videos.
Some Defendants were directed to share details of others involved, including the registrants of specific domain names, to help enforce the order effectively.
The Defendant No. 10 (identity not disclosed) was excluded from these directions for now.

Conclusion:

The Bombay High Court granted an urgent interim order protecting Arijit Singh’s name, voice, image, and identity from unauthorized use by the Defendants, especially through AI technology. The Court ordered removal of fake content, suspension of related domain names, and disclosure of involved parties. This order aimed to prevent further harm to the singer’s reputation and rights while the case continued. The judgment highlighted the need to protect celebrities from misuse of their digital identity.