Delhi HC Bars Entities From Using Jackie Shroff's Name, Voice Without Consent

Jackie Shroff filed a petition seeking protection for his name, likeness, and the use of his nickname 'Bhidu.'

Actor Jackie Shroff filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking protection for his name, likeness, and the use of his nickname 'Bhidu' without authorisation.

(Photo:X)

The Delhi High Court passed an interim order protecting the personality and publicity rights of actor Jackie Shroff while restraining entities like e-commerce stores, AI chatbots, social media accounts from misusing Shroff's name, image, voice and likeness without his consent.

As per a report by The Indian Express the order (passed on 15 May) that the facts narrated in Shroff’s lawsuit “undoubtedly establish” the actor’s “status as a celebrity”.

“This status inherently grants the plaintiff certain rights over his personality and associated attributes,” the high court noted.

While passing the order, the court took note of Shroff's appearance in over 200 films, countless TV shows and web series, his endorsement of products and appearance in advertisements. It also took note of his trademark registered for the term ‘Bhidu’.

“The plaintiff’s (Shroff) commercial endorsements leverage his personality, name, voice, image, likeness, mannerisms, gestures, and other uniquely identifiable characteristics associated with him. These attributes, over which the plaintiff exercises exclusive control, constitute his ‘personality rights’ and ‘publicity rights.’ The unauthorized use of these characteristics for commercial purposes not only infringes upon these rights but also dilutes the brand equity painstakingly built by the plaintiff over the years,” the court said, while passing the order.

The court issued notices to various defendant entities and stated that till the next date of hearing they are barred from infringing personality rights of Shroff.

On 14 May, Shroff took legal action against multiple entities for unauthorized use of his name, images and voice. In his plea before the High Court, the veteran actor sought protection for his names Jackie Shroff, Jackie, Jaggu Dada, and Bhidu, stating that his attributes cannot be used without his authorisation on any platform.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)