Aishwarya Rai Moves Delhi High Court Over Personality Rights

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has approached the Delhi high court seeking protection of her personality rights, alleging that rogue websites were using her name and image without authorization.

The petition, filed against aishwaryaworld and other infringers, argued that the unauthorised use of her persona is part of a wider trend of online fraud exploiting celebrities' identities.

The hearing was adjourned till January, but the court is likely to grant interim injunctions against infringers. Justice Tejas Karia said a detailed written order would be issued restraining the infringements and protecting Rai's rights.

"There are only 151 URLs which will form part of the order as far as you are concerned... We will pass orders against each of defendants because prayers are broad. But we will grant injunctions separately," Justice Karia remarked.

Rai's plea seeks injunctions to block the website and other offenders, removal of infringing URLs, and directions to intermediaries such as Google and YouTube to take down unlawful content.

She also requested liberty to extend the order to“John Doe” defendants-unidentified parties that may host similar infringing material in the future .

'John Doe' is a type of court order issued against unknown or unidentified parties. In intellectual property and personality rights cases, it allows a celebrity, brand, or copyright holder to stop not just the known infringers but also future or unidentified offenders who may misuse their name, image, or content.

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Rai's advocate Sandeep Sethi told the court that aishwaryaworld falsely claims to be her“only authorized and official website”, without authorization.

Sethi said the platform published personal information, unauthorized images, and was even selling merchandise such as T-shirts priced up to ₹3,100 and mugs featuring her likeness, creating a misleading impression of endorsement.

Sethi also submitted that Rai's image was being used in fraudulent schemes, including a so-called“wealth fund” that placed her photo on its letterhead and named her as chairperson to solicit money. Letters were allegedly circulated in her name to mislead third parties, even though she had no connection with the entity.

Rai's senior counsel also pointed to morphed and AI-generated pornographic content in which her likeness was superimposed. Screenshots of fabricated chat messages and manipulated images portraying her in objectionable ways were presented to the court.

Sethi called it a“derogatory, defamatory, and a direct assault” on Rai's dignity.

Also Read | Mint Explainer: How celebrities are confronting deepfakes, copyright concerns

The lawyers highlighted that AI-generated deepfakes pose a new dimension of risk for celebrities, violating privacy and causing reputational and financial harm.

Rai's move reflects a growing trend of celebrities turning to courts to secure their identity rights.

Earlier Delhi high court rulings protected Amitabh Bachchan , Anil Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff in similar cases. In these rulings, the court restrained misuse of celebrity names, voices, and images and recognized personality rights as part of the fundamental right to dignity and privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Last year, the Delhi high court barred unauthorized use of Jackie Shroff's sobriquets“Jackie” and“Jaggu Dada,” as well as his catchphrase“bhidu.”

Similarly, in 2023, the court protected Anil Kapoor's iconic“jhakaas ". In both cases, commercial exploitation of their names, voices, and images was prohibited without consent.

Personality rights allow individuals to safeguard their identity in the context of privacy and property rights.

For celebrities, this extends to their names, images, or voices, preventing unauthorized commercial use. Though India has no standalone law on personality rights, the Supreme Court and high courts recognize these under Article 21. Additionally, celebrities can register their names, voices, and signatures under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

Legal experts earlier told Mint that while personality rights are crucial in protecting celebrities from fraud and impersonation, overbroad enforcement may raise concerns for content creators, especially in areas like mimicry and satire.

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