NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has protected the personality rights of Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, barring online platforms from illegally using his name or images for commercial gain.The high court said it was clear that the attributes of Bachchan’s persona, including his name, images and signature, are being misused by the defendant websites and platforms without authorisation from him, by employing technological tools such as Artificial Intelligence.“These attributes are linked to the plaintiff’s professional work and associations in the course of his career. The unauthorised use of such attributes has the effect of diluting the goodwill and reputation associated with him,” Justice Tejas Karia said in an order passed on September 10 and was made available on Friday.The High Court noted that Abhishek Bachchan had made out a strong prima facie case for an ex-parte injunction, adding that the balance of convenience was also in his favour.“The 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 or harm to the plaintiff and his family, not only financially but also with respect to his right to live with dignity,” it said.The court issued the interim order on Abhishek Bachchan’s plea seeking protection of his personality rights and a restraint on online platforms from misusing his name, images, and AI-generated inappropriate or sexually explicit content.The suit concerns the unauthorised commercial exploitation of various aspects of Bachchan’s persona, including his name, image, likeness, voice, and overall identity, without his consent.Personality rights, also known as the right to publicity, safeguard an individual’s ability to control, protect, and profit from the use of their image, name, or likeness.(With inputs from agency)
