In a significant move, the Delhi High Court has stepped in to protect veteran actress Jaya Bachchan from the rampant misuse of her identity online. The court has granted her interim protection, safeguarding her personality rights from unauthorized commercial exploitation.
Court Takes Action Against Rampant Misuse
The bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora was hearing a plea filed by the actress, which brought to light a disturbing trend. The plea detailed how several social media accounts, YouTube channels, and websites were illegally using her name, image, and persona for their own financial gain.
Representing Bachchan, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi informed the court about the severe nature of the violations. He cited instances of AI-generated videos, sexually explicit content, morphed images, and unauthorized merchandise being used to tarnish and exploit her identity. Sethi highlighted a major challenge, stating, "We don't even know the name of the party who is selling it." He provided a breakdown of the defendants' actions, pointing out that one had published morphed images, another was selling merchandise with her picture, while a YouTube channel had uploaded defamatory content.
Clarification on Movie Posters and Website Blocking
During the proceedings, Justice Arora made an important clarification regarding the use of Bachchan's likeness on movie posters. The judge noted that such use could not be immediately restricted as the copyright typically belongs to the film's owner, not the actor featured in the poster. "How do you claim copyright in the movie posters? Copyright vests in whoever is the owner of the movie," Justice Arora observed, choosing not to issue an injunction on that specific point at this stage.
However, the court took decisive action against other forms of infringement. It ordered blocking actions against the websites that were misusing Bachchan's persona. Justice Arora directed, "I will issue the injunction… Issue blocking orders with respect to the websites. I will issue directions that you will make websites and DNRs (Domain Name Registrars) as parties." This move aims to directly target the platforms facilitating the unauthorized use.
A Growing Trend of Protecting Celebrity Rights
The court also granted Bachchan the liberty to file an amended plaint within two days to correct clerical errors in the original filing. The case is now scheduled for its next hearing on 16 April.
Jaya Bachchan's case is part of a larger judicial effort in India to uphold the personality and publicity rights of celebrities. The Delhi High Court has previously extended similar legal protection to a host of other prominent figures, including:
- Jackie Shroff
- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
- Abhishek Bachchan
- Hrithik Roshan
- Akkineni Nagarjuna
- Karan Johar
This ruling reinforces the legal recourse available to public figures against the unauthorized and often malicious use of their identity in the digital age, especially with the emerging threat of AI-generated content.
