In a case concerning the unauthorised use of Amitabh Bachchan's personal identity, the Delhi High Court has granted the actor permanent protection over his personality rights, including his name, image, voice, likeness and other aspects of his persona.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the decree, restraining individuals and entities from using the actor's identity for commercial purposes without his explicit permission. The order also allows Bachchan to initiate fresh legal proceedings if further unauthorised use of his identity comes to light.
Four defendants agree to settlement
Four defendants in the case agreed to a settlement with Bachchan, acknowledging his publicity rights and right to privacy. They undertook not to use his name, image, voice, likeness or any other aspect of his persona in the future without his explicit permission.
The four defendants included a mobile application developer behind an app titled 'Amitabh Bachchan Video Call', Manoj Publications, which had published a general knowledge quiz book featuring the actor's photograph, a seller of posters bearing his images, and the registrant of the domain name 'amitabhbachchan.in'.
As part of the settlement, the app developer said steps had been taken to remove the application, the publisher discontinued the quiz book, the poster seller stopped selling the material, and the domain registrant stated that the website domain had been deleted in Nov 2022.
Court's order against other defendants and unidentified users
The court also passed a decree against four other defendants who had failed to appear or file written statements despite receiving court summons.
These included a defendant accused of circulating fake WhatsApp messages using Bachchan's photograph to promote a purported Kaun Banega Crorepati lottery, along with parties linked to the sale of T-shirts and the registration of another domain name using the actor's identity.
Recognising the difficulty of identifying individuals behind online misuse, the court also extended the decree to unidentified infringers, referred to as John Does or Ashok Kumar in Indian legal terminology.
The court noted that the case involved a continuing pattern of anonymous misuse through websites, mobile applications, posters and messaging platforms. The decree therefore also applies to unidentified infringers, restraining unauthorised commercial exploitation of Bachchan's persona.
This could be a major step, especially in the digital and AI age where voice morphing, fake AI-generated images and videos have become a common occurrence
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