Court restrains unauthorized commercial use of actor's persona on e-commerce and social media platforms
In a landmark ruling, the Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction in favor of renowned actor Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair, protecting his personality and publicity rights against unauthorized commercial and personal use of his name, image, voice, and likeness by various defendants, including e-commerce platforms and social media accounts. Presiding over the case, Justice Jyoti Singh recognized the actor's extensive contributions to Indian cinema and his resulting commercial goodwill.
The plaintiff, Mohanlal, a celebrated figure in the Indian film industry, sought protection against unauthorized exploitation of his personality attributes by several online entities. The defendants, which included e-commerce websites and social media platforms, were accused of selling merchandise and disseminating content featuring Mohanlal's persona without his consent.
The court observed that Mohanlal had established a prima facie case for the protection of his personality rights, noting that unauthorized use of celebrity attributes results in commercial detriment and infringes on their rights. Justice Singh emphasized that celebrities have exclusive rights to control and regulate the commercial exploitation of their personality attributes.
The judgment highlighted that various defendants were operating commercial websites offering merchandise such as T-shirts, posters, and other items bearing Mohanlal's likeness without authorization, which amounted to passing off and violated the plaintiff's common law rights. Additionally, content on social media platforms using Mohanlal's persona was found to be causing irreparable harm to his reputation.
In response to the plaintiff's plea, the court issued several directions, including restraining the defendants from using Mohanlal's attributes without authorization, removing infringing URLs, and providing Basic Subscriber Information and IP logs of the users involved in the infringing activities. The decision underscores the importance of safeguarding celebrity rights in the digital age.
Bottom Line:
Protection of personality and publicity rights of public figures - A celebrity has the exclusive right to control and regulate the commercial exploitation of their personality attributes, including name, likeness, voice, and image, which cannot be misused by unauthorized parties for commercial or personal gain.
Statutory provision(s): Order I Rule 10, Section 151 CPC, Section 12-A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, Section 149 CPC, Order XI Rule 1 (4), Section 63(4) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, Section 80(2) CPC, Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2, Order XXXIX Rule 3 CPC.
Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair v. John Doe/Ashok Kumar, (Delhi) : Law Finder Doc id # 2878052
