New Delhi:

Popular singer Arijit Singh refused to sing at a UK concert a song he composed in the aftermath of the rape-murder of a doctor in Kolkata. The song ‘Aar Kobe’ has emerged as an anthem of sorts amid massive protests over the doctor’s rape-murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last month.

While on stage, someone from the crowd requested Mr Singh to sing ‘Aar Kobe’. “This is not the place. People haven’t come here to protest. They have come here to listen to me. That’s my job. And what you are saying is my heart. This is not the right time and place,” the singer is heard saying in a video that has emerged on social media.

“If you really feel about it, go to Kolkata. Gather some people, a lot of Bengalis are here, go, on the street,” he added, before returning to the ‘Ramta Jogi’ song from 1999 movie Taal.

The singer paused again and added, “That song (Aar Kobe) is not monetised. It will never be monetised. Anybody can use it.”

Arijit Singh recorded the song, Aar Kobe, in the wake of the August 9 Kolkata rape-murder incident that has shaken the nation. Aar Kobe, which translates to “if not now, then when” calls upon people to join the fight for women’s safety and dignity.

Within three weeks of its release, the Bengali song has already garnered more than 2 millions views on YouTube.

“Let this song add to the chorus of dissent. May it be a voice of hope, a plea for justice, and a catalyst for change. Together, we can try to ensure that such tragedies never happen again,” the singer’s official YouTube channel has said in its descriptor for the song.

Mumbai:

Granting relief to composer-singer Arijit Singh, the Bombay High Court has said AI tools generating content using a celebrity’s voice, image or other attributes without consent violate his or her “personality rights”.

Celebrities are particularly vulnerable to unauthorised generation of content through AI tools, the court said.

Hearing a petition filed by the famous singer, Justice R I Chagla in his interim order on July 26 restrained eight online platforms from using Singh’s “personality rights”, and directed them to remove all such content and also voice conversion tools.

The singer had moved the court claiming that these platforms provide AI tools to synthesize artificial sound recordings by mimicking his voice, mannerisms and other attributes.

Arijit Singh has consciously refrained from any kind of brand endorsement or gross commercialization of his personality traits for the past several years, his lawyer Hiren Kamod said.

The high court agreed that Singh should be given interim relief.

“What shocks the conscience of this court is the manner in which celebrities, particularly performers such as the present plaintiff are vulnerable to being targeted by unauthorized generative AI content,” the judge said.

The freedom of speech and expression allows for critique and commentary but does not grant the license to exploit a celebrity’s persona for commercial gain, Justice Chagla said.

“Making AI tools available that enable the conversion of any voice into that of a celebrity without his/her permission constitutes a violation of the celebrity’s personality rights,” it added.

Such tools facilitate “unauthorized appropriation and manipulation” of a celebrity’s voice, a key component of their personal identity, Justice Chagla said.

Further, such use of the AI technology also undermines celebrities’ ability to prevent “deceptive uses of their identity,” the HC said.

Such platforms are emboldening Internet users to create counterfeit sound recordings and videos, it observed.

Singh has gained immense goodwill and reputation over the course of a very successful career, the judge noted.

“Prima facie, I am of the view that the plaintiff’s personality traits including his name, voice, photograph/ caricature, image, likeness, persona and other attributes of his personality are protectable elements of his personality rights,” Justice Chagla said.

Advocate Kamod told the court that Arijit Singh hails from a small town and has humble beginnings, and now he is one of the most celebrated singers in the world.

The petition, filed through Legasis Partners, sought protection of his personality rights with regard to his name, voice, signatures, photograph, image, caricature, likeness, persona, and various other attributes of his personality against unauthorized/unlicensed commercial exploitation and misuse.

Several YouTube channels were creating memes and GIFs “causing ridicule, embarrassment and humiliation” and affecting the singer’s reputation, it said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)