In a huge relief to Aishwarya Rai, the Delhi high court on Thursday, September 11, protected the personality rights of the Bollywood actor as it barred all online platforms from illegally using her name or image for commercial purposes.
The high court observed that using a celebrity’s identity without consent can cause commercial harm and also infringe upon their right to live with dignity. The order was passed on September 9 and made available on Thursday, September 11.
The high court bench also directed Google LLC and various e-commerce platforms to take down, remove or disable identified URLs within 72 hours of receiving notice.
The court said, “Personality rights allow a person to control and protect how their image, name and likeness are used.”
“The courts in such cases of unauthorised exploitation of one’s personality rights, cannot turn a blind-eye to the same and shall protect the aggrieved parties so as to avert any harm to them resulting from the said unauthorised exploitation,” Justice Tejas Karia said.
The Delhi High Court said Aishwarya Rai had shown enough reason to immediately stop others from using her name or image.
“Balance of convenience lies in favour of the plaintiff and if an injunction is not granted in the present case, it will lead to an irreparable loss/harm to the plaintiff and her family, not only financially, but also with respect to her right to live with dignity,” the court said.
The court found that the misuse of Aishwarya Rai’s persona created confusion, falsely implied endorsement, and diluted her reputation and goodwill.
In its order, the court imposed wide-ranging curbs on the defendants – such as aishwaryaworld.com, apkpure.com, bollywoodteeshop.com, kashcollectiveco.com – restraining them from violating Aishwarya Rai’s personality, publicity, or moral rights, or falsely portraying goods and services as endorsed by her.
It also banned the creation, sharing, or circulation of AI-generated, deepfake, morphed, or manipulated content, and prohibited any misuse of her persona in commercial products, advertisements, or online platforms.
The interim order was passed after Aishwarya Rai sought to protect her name and personality rights, restraining online platforms from using her name, image, her AI-generated images, likeness, persona illegally.
The right to publicity, popularly known as personality rights, is the right to protect, control, and profit from one’s image, name, or likeness.