Abhishek Bachchan Moves Delhi High Court For Personality Rights Protection

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Mumbai: Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan has moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, alleging that rogue websites were using his name and image without authorization.

This plea, which comes a day after his wife and actor Aishwarya Rai approached the court in a similar case, will be heard by Justice Tejas Karia later in the day. Bachchan has filed an appeal against the website, Bollywood Tee Shop, which makes t-shirts of Bollywood celebrities.

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

Bachchan'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.

He 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.

Also Read | Celebrities' legal fight for intellectual property: A double-edged sword

Dhruv Anand, advocate on record for Bachchan, claimed the platform was selling merchandise, creating a misleading impression of endorsement.

This plea comes at a time when several celebrities are moving courts to prevent misuse of their personality.

On Tuesday, Aishwarya Bachchan filed a case against aishwaryaworld and other infringers, arguing that the unauthorised use of her persona is part of a wider trend of online fraud exploiting celebrities' identities.

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

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

Earlier Delhi high court rulings protected Amitabh Bachcha , Anil Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff in similar cases.

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