Delhi High Court permanently protects Amitabh Bachchan's personality rights

The Delhi High Court has permanently restrained the unauthorised use of veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan's name, image, voice and other aspects of his personality, granting him protection against commercial exploitation of his identity without consent.

In an order dated November 5, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav decreed a suit filed by Bachchan in 2022 after being informed that four entities had entered into settlements acknowledging his publicity rights and right to privacy.

The court also extended the protection to unidentified individuals and entities accused of misusing the actor's persona through websites, applications, posters and messaging platforms.

Four entities agree to stop using actor's identity

During the proceedings, one individual informed the court that the mobile application titled 'Amitabh Bachchan Video Call' had been removed. Another said that publication of a General Knowledge Quizbook featuring the actor's image had been discontinued.

A third individual submitted that posters carrying Bachchan's name, image and likeness were no longer being sold. The fourth informed the court that the domain name amitabhbachchan.in had been deleted in November 2022 and that no monetary benefit had been earned from it.

All four undertook not to use any aspect of Bachchan's persona in the future without his express permission.

Protection extended to unidentified defendants

The court noted that the remaining defendants, including unknown entities, had failed to appear despite being served notices or file written statements. Their right to file written statements had been closed on September 25, 2023.

It also observed that the statutory timeline for filing a written statement in a commercial suit cannot be extended beyond the prescribed period.

The court said its November 2022 interim order protecting Bachchan's personality rights would merge with the final decree.

“Accordingly, the application stands allowed. The suit stands decreed qua defendant nos. 1, 3, 5 and 8 in terms of paragraph no. 76(a) to (c) of the plaint and in terms of paragraph no. 7 of the instant application. Let the decree sheet be drawn up by the Registry. The application, which embodies the terms of the compromise, shall form part of the decree sheet. None of the defendants has filed a written statement disputing the plaintiff‟s case, and defendant nos. 1, 3, 5 and 8 have themselves accepted the plaintiff‟s rights and suffered a decree,” the court said.

It further held that the protection would also apply to unidentified defendants, noting that the actor could not track every instance of anonymous misuse of his identity.