In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has sided with veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle in a personality rights case. The court’s decision, issued on Thursday, safeguards Bhosle’s personality rights, preventing the unauthorized use of her name, image, and voice. This protection extends to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), explicitly prohibiting the replication or imitation of her voice without consent.
The court emphasized that utilizing AI tools to clone a celebrity’s voice without permission constitutes an infringement of their personality rights. Justice Arif S. Doctor clarified that such tools facilitate the unauthorized exploitation and manipulation of a celebrity’s voice, which is a crucial element of their personal and public identity.