Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow
DPIIT IPR-Chair
Organizes
SECOND EDITION OF NATIONAL CONFERENCE
on
(Two-Day National Conference – March 28-29, 2026)
Mode of the Conference: Hybrid Mode (Online & Offline)
In the contemporary digital economy, advertising and branding have undergone a fundamental transformation. The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), algorithm-driven marketing, influencer culture, and immersive digital platforms has redefined how brands communicate with consumers. At the same time, the emergence of deepfake technologies, synthetic media, and AI-generated endorsements has raised complex intellectual property and personality rights concerns, particularly in relation to celebrities, public figures, and individuals whose identity, likeness, or voice may be commercially exploited without consent.
Advertising today is no longer limited to traditional media. It is increasingly powered by data analytics, generative AI tools, virtual influencers, and automated branding strategies. While these innovations offer unprecedented creative possibilities and commercial efficiency, they also challenge existing intellectual property frameworks relating to copyright, trademarks, publicity rights, and unfair competition. The misuse of AI-generated deepfakes in advertisements, political messaging, and brand promotions poses serious threats to reputation, consumer trust, and individual autonomy.
Against this backdrop, the DPIIT IPR Chair at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU), Lucknow proposes to organize the Second Edition of the National Conference on 28-29th March 2026. The conference aims to provide a multidisciplinary platform for legal scholars, policymakers, industry professionals, technologists, and students to critically examine the evolving interface between intellectual property law, advertising practices, branding strategies, and emerging AI-driven technologies.
The growing convergence of intellectual property rights with advertising and branding practices has brought personality rights, celebrity rights, and digital identity to the forefront of legal discourse. AI-driven tools can now generate hyper-realistic images, videos, and voices, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between authentic and manipulated content. Deepfakes, in particular, have emerged as a powerful yet dangerous technology, capable of misappropriating a person’s likeness for commercial gain, misinformation, or reputational harm.
Traditional IP regimes were not designed to address challenges arising from virtual influencers, synthetic endorsements, and AI-generated brand ambassadors. Questions surrounding ownership, consent, liability, and enforcement remain largely unresolved. The unauthorized use of celebrity images or voices in advertisements through AI tools raises serious concerns regarding passing off, false endorsement, trademark dilution, and violation of privacy and personality rights.
This conference seeks to explore whether existing legal frameworks are adequate to regulate AI-driven advertising and branding or whether new regulatory approaches are required. It also aims to deliberate on global best practices, comparative legal developments, and policy responses to ensure ethical governance, consumer protection, and the safeguarding of individual rights in the digital advertising ecosystem.
The conference will feature parallel technical sessions, invited keynote lectures, paper presentations, and expert-led discussions. Selected papers, after rigorous peer review and plagiarism checks, are proposed to be published with a reputed publisher. Another significant outcome of the conference will be the preparation of a White Paper based on expert consultations and session deliberations, offering policy recommendations on AI, deepfakes, and personality rights in advertising and branding.
Who can participate
Research papers are invited from Academicians, Professionals, Advocates/Practitioners, Research Scholars and Students etc.