The Delhi High Court has granted protection to Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan’s personality rights, restraining online platforms from misusing his name, image, voice, and AI-generated content without consent.
Justice Tejas Karia, in an order passed on September 10 (released on Friday), observed that Bachchan’s persona — including his name, images, signature, and likeness — was being illegally exploited by defendant websites through 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 Karia said.
The court noted that Bachchan had made out a strong prima facie case for an ex-parte injunction. It further held that the balance of convenience lay in his favour.
“If an injunction is not granted in the present case, it will lead to irreparable loss or harm to the plaintiff and his family, not only financially but also with respect to his right to live with dignity,” the bench observed.
The interim order came in response to a plea filed by Bachchan, who sought to safeguard his personality rights against the unauthorised use of his identity. The suit alleged that various online platforms were misappropriating his name, image, likeness, persona, and even generating inappropriate and sexually explicit AI-based content for commercial gain.
The court emphasised that the right to publicity, also known as personality rights, is a legally recognised right that allows an individual to protect, control, and profit from the commercial use of their name, likeness, and identity.
