Anil Kapoor’s Personality Right Protection

Background

 Anil Kapoor, a prominent bollywood actor approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection for his personality rights, encompassing his name, acronym AK, nicknames like “Majnu bhai” , “Mr. India”, “Lakhan”,  pictures, gesture,  manner of speaking. And he also claimed safeguarding copyright in dialogues like the phrase “Jhakaas” and associated works. He alleged that many unauthorized people had exploited his persona for their financial gain.

 

 Legal Arguments

The Petitioner contended that several defendants had misappropriated Anil Kapoor’s unique features including his trademark dialogue “jhakaas”. He further distinguished between “fair use” and  unauthorized commercial use, asserting that Anil Kapoor’s rights were infringed when third party sought profit from his persona.

 

Court’s Decision

The Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte omnibus injuction restraing various entities (approx 16)from using Anil Kapoor’s name, likeness or image, employing technological tools like AI ( Artificial Intelligence), face morphing or GIFs  for monetary gain or commercial use.

 

Precedents

In November 2022, the Delhi High Court issued a similar injuction in the case of Amitabh Bachchan’s case prohibiting the use of variations oh his name and unique style for addressing computers. The Court relied on 2012 order involving Bachchan, where Titan Industries secured an injuction against a jewelry store for using Amitabh Bachchan’s image from a Tanishq Advertisement.

 

In a 2015 case involving Rajnikanth, The Madras Court emphasized that personality rights apply to those who have achieved celebrity status. The court ruled in the favor of Rajnikanth against the producers of “Mai Hoon Rajnikanth” asserting that the titles and elements of the movie infringed his personality rights.

 

Conclusion

 

The Delhi High Court’s decision in Anil Kapoor’s case highlights the growing importance of protecting celebrity personality rights. Though this right is not explicitly mentioned in the Indian Law, they are rooted in right to privacy and life. Court has relied on the Intellectual Property’s concept to safeguard these rights and grant injuction against the unauthorized commercial use, thereby deterring potential misuse and protecting the revenue streams of celebrities.