SP Charan's Keeda Cola Legal Battle

SP Charan’s Keeda Cola Legal Battle

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SP Charan Takes Legal Action Against Unauthorized Use of SP Balasubrahmanyam’s Voice in Keeda Cola

Legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam’s son, SP Charan, has taken a significant step by moving to court against movie director Tharun Bhascker for the unauthorized use of his late father’s voice generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the film Keeda Cola. Charan alleges that the use of his father’s voice in the movie without prior permission constitutes an infringement of rights.

Charan, through his lawyer Kavitha Deenadayalan, emphasizes that while fans recreating his father’s voice using AI might be acceptable, the use of such recreations in commercial ventures like films necessitates proper authorization and credit to the original singer.

In the legal petition, Charan seeks an apology, damages worth 1 crore rupees, and a share of royalties from the movie(keeda cola). This case marks a significant legal precedent as the first instance of challenging the unauthorized use of AI-generated voices of deceased singers.

Drawing attention to a recent example, renowned musician AR Rahman recreated the voices of two iconic singers, Shahul Hameed and Bamba Bakya, for the film Lal Salaam. Rahman’s approach stands in stark contrast as he obtained permission from the families of the deceased singers and duly credited them in the film.

Ironically, the storyline of Keeda Cola reportedly revolves around suing a company for damages, mirroring the legal battle the movie director himself now faces for unauthorized use of SP Balasubrahmanyam’s voice.

SP Charan’s legal action underscores the importance of respecting intellectual property rights, particularly in the evolving landscape of AI-generated content. It serves as a reminder to filmmakers and creators to seek proper authorization and credit when utilizing the voices or likeness of iconic personalities, especially posthumously.

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