The Delhi High Court on Monday issued removal and ban orders, while protecting the personal rights of Samajwadi Party actor and MP Jaya Bachchan.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora issued orders blocking websites that infringed on Jaya’s character rights, but refused to issue an injunction against the use of her images on movie posters.
Pointing out that the copyright of movie posters rests with the respective movie owners and not Jaya, the court orally indicated that it would hear the parties first before restraining them.
Jaya is the fourth member of the Bachchan family to seek protection of her personal rights from the HC. The court had earlier granted similar exemptions to her husband, actor Amitabh Bachchan, her son, actor Abhishek Bachchan, and her daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Amitabh in 2022 sought protection from the HC for his publicity rights as a celebrity, and objected to the unauthorized use of his status as a celebrity to promote goods and services by various entities without his permission.
The court has seen a slew of celebrities approach it this year seeking to protect their personal rights and take action against websites for unauthorized use of their images and catchphrases – including using these elements to power AI-powered chatbots.
Recently, HC protected the personal rights of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, film producer Karan Johar, actors Hrithik Roshan and Akkineni Nagarjuna, and singer Kumar Sanu.
Story continues below this ad
Bombay HC also protected the personal rights of singer Asha Bhosle and actors Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar.
Celebrities are increasingly turning to the High Courts claiming that their personal right and right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution is affected by AI-generated content, including deepfakes, and seeking protection of their moral rights under the Copyright Act 1957.
(Tags for translation)Jaya Bachchan
