Delhi High Court orders takedown of deepfake videos featuring Medanta Hospital, Dr. Naresh Trehan

The Delhi High Court on January 8 passed a John Doe order directing unidentified entities to take down deepfake videos on Facebook featuring Medanta Hospital’s trademark and its chairperson Dr. Naresh Trehan [Global Health Limited Vs John Doe]..Justice Mini Pushkarna passed the order after the counsel for Medanta and Dr. Trehan argued that advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology was used to create deepfake videos falsely showing Trehan endorsing natural remedies for urological conditions."Defendant no.1 or any person acting for or on their behalf, are directed to remove/delete/take down/disable the pages and/or profiles/accounts and/or videos and/or contents and/or social media groups and/or channels, details of which, have been reproduced in the present order, within 24 hours,” the Court saidFurther, if the defendants do not take down the infringing videos, Meta Inc (Facebook) should remove/ delete/ takedown the videos within 36 hours from the receipt of the court order.John Doe orders are blanket cease and desist injunctions that are issued against anonymous entities. They are usually passed in suits involving infringement of intellectual property rights since it is often practically impossible to track down every infringing party..Medanta Hospital and Dr. Naresh Trehan (plaintiffs) approached the Court following the circulation of manipulated videos featuring Dr. Trehan, a globally renowned cardiothoracic surgeon. The videos falsely showed him promoting unverified natural remedies for urological issues such as prostatitis and erectile dysfunction.It was argued that Dr. Trehan's identity and likeness were unlawfully appropriated, which constituted a gross violation of his personality rights. It was contended that they had not given any rights/ license to the defendants to use their intellectual property rights and personality rights,The plaintiffs contended that Dr. Trehan’s reputation as a credible and respected figure in the medical community was significantly jeopardized. It was further argued that the fabricated videos misled the public into believing he endorsed unverified treatments. They emphasised that such videos harmed both Dr. Trehan’s professional standing and the trust placed in Medanta Hospitals.The plaintiffs argued that the false claims in the videos lacked any credible medical oversight, posing serious health risks to unsuspecting individuals. The remedies falsely attributed to Dr. Trehan could lead to "adverse reactions and long-term health consequences," especially since these remedies were not backed by medical evidence..The lawyers for the plaintiffs highlighted the use of advanced AI technologies to create these deepfakes. They pointed out how photo-shopping, voice-over manipulation, and AI-generated content were strategically employed to make the videos appear authentic, thereby deceiving the public.According to the plaintiffs, the commercial intent behind these videos was to profit by exploiting Dr. Trehan’s reputation and misleading consumers into purchasing unverified products..The Court accepted the arguments and said that a prima facie case was made out for grant of injunction.“The plaintiffs have demonstrated a prima facie case for grant of injunction and, in case, no ex parte ad interim injunction is granted, the plaintiffs will suffer an irreparable loss. Further, balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiffs, and against the defendants,” the single-judge stated. In addition to ex parte injunction against the defendants, the court also granted a dynamic injunction.“In case, the plaintiffs during the pendency of the present suit, discover any more false/fake and deep fake videos... the plaintiffs shall be at liberty to approach the defendant nos. 2 to 4 requesting them to block/take down, within 36 hours.”.The plaintiffs were represented by Senior Advocate Shyel Trehan and advocates Manjira Dasgupta, Bhargav R Thali and Vignesh Raj..[Read Judgment]