The Delhi High Court on Thursday said it would issue an interim order on a plea filed by Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights.
The matter came up before Justice Tejas Karia, who orally remarked, “When you can identify the URLs, the best is to direct them to take down… Will pass orders.” The court has listed the case for further hearing on January 23.
Appearing for Nagarjuna, advocate Pravin Anand submitted that the actor was aggrieved on three counts:
- Use of his personality traits on pornographic websites.
- Sale of unauthorised merchandise carrying his name or likeness.
- YouTube videos misusing his persona.
Anand argued that such infringements violated the actor’s personality rights, depriving him of control over the use of his name, image and likeness.
The plea follows a series of similar petitions by celebrities. Recently, Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and filmmaker Karan Johar approached the Delhi High Court seeking similar protection. The court granted them interim relief against unauthorised exploitation of their names and images.
Personality rights, also known as publicity rights, safeguard an individual’s control over their image, name and likeness. These rights enable celebrities and public figures to prevent unauthorised commercial exploitation of their persona and ensure they retain the right to profit from their own identity.
The court’s forthcoming interim order is expected to direct takedown of infringing online content and prevent further misuse of Nagarjuna’s identity.
