High Court
Shemaroo obtains John Doe order from HC to protect ‘Hunterrr’ from piracy
MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has obtained a John Doe order from the Mumbai High Court to protect its latest release Hunterrr from the menace of piracy. The order, not only restricts piracy on cable, digital and physical medium but action can also be taken against a person watching the film from an illegal source.
Shemaroo Entertainment has sent a copy of the order to various MSOs, LCOs and ISPs. Further, the court has directed all police authorities to act on the order.
The order restrains any person from “downloading from internet, telecasting, broadcasting and distributing or putting on the cable TV network, disseminating, reproducing or otherwise making available to the public, the film Hunterrr or “from (i) making a copy of the said film, (ii) to sell or give on hire, or offer for sale or hire, any copy of the said film (iii) to communicate the film to the public in any manner whatsoever including by way of but not limited to telecasting and/or re telecasting the said film, or even otherwise dealing with the rights in the said film which vest exclusively in the Plaintiff, in any manner whatsoever.” The order also restrains others “from communicating or making available or distributing, or duplicating, or displaying, or releasing, or showing, or uploading, or downloading or exhibiting, or playing, and/or defraying the movie Hunterrr in any manner from the Plaintiff or in any other manner, which would violate/infringe the Plaintiff’s copyright in the said film Hunterrr.”
Hunterrr stars Gulshan Devaiah, Radhika Apte and Sai Tamhankar and is produced by Anurag Kashyap’s Phantom Films.
A John Doe order is defined as an action instituted by a party who seeks the aid of the Court in fear of some future probable injury to his rights or interest and the action is brought to prevent a wrong that is apprehended.
High Court
Bombay High Court questions AI celebrity deepfakes in Shilpa Shetty case
Justice questions legality of unconsented AI personas, platforms directed to respond.
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court just put AI on the witness stand because when a chatbot starts chatting as Shilpa Shetty without asking, even the bench wants to know who gave permission. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday expressed serious concerns over the legality of artificial intelligence tools that simulate celebrity personalities without consent, during a personality rights suit filed by actor Shilpa Shetty.
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, hearing the matter, questioned platforms that allow users to interact with AI-generated versions of actors without authorisation. The court noted that one accused AI chatbot website continued using Shetty’s personality without permission, prompting the judge to ask about the legal basis for such operations.
When the lawyer for the AI company argued that the system relied on algorithms and did not require celebrity consent, Justice Deshmukh challenged the platform’s right to recreate and make public a person’s identity in this manner. She observed that while users uploading photographs raised one set of issues, AI systems generating content based on recognised personalities posed distinct legal and ethical questions especially when the platform itself acknowledged the content was not real.
The court directed the platform to file a detailed response explaining its position.
The case involves Shetty seeking restrictions on more than 30 platforms including e-commerce websites and AI services accused of hosting or enabling misuse of her image and circulation of deepfake content.
The Bench also raised concerns about Youtube commentary videos discussing the ongoing proceedings involving Shetty and her husband, questioning whether unverified discussions could malign parties without journalistic checks.
Counsel for Google, Tenor and the AI entity informed the court that flagged infringing URLs had been removed. Shetty’s team disputed this, leading the court to allow her to file an application alleging non-compliance if links remained active.
Tenor objected to the broad injunction sought, arguing it functions as an intermediary GIF platform without capacity for proactive monitoring. The court directed Tenor to file an affidavit opposing the order.
E-commerce platforms including Amazon stated they had removed unauthorised listings using Shetty’s name and image, and would continue to act on specific notifications.
The court reiterated that directions for intermediaries would operate on a “take-down on notice” basis, requiring removal of infringing content once flagged.
As deepfakes blur the line between real and rendered, the Bombay High Court isn’t just hearing a case, it’s asking the bigger question: in the age of AI avatars, who really owns your face?
