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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been granted protection over her personality rights by the Delhi High Court. As per this ruling, the unauthorised commercial use of her name, image, voice, or other attributes will violate her right to live with dignity.
“Balance of convenience lies in favour of the plaintiff and if an injunction is not granted in the present case, it will lead to an irreparable loss/harm to the plaintiff and her family, not only financially, but also with respect to her right to live with dignity,” the court said.
“Any infringement of the plaintiff’s personality rights, while causing confusion amongst the members of the public regarding endorsement or sponsorship of a product or service by the plaintiff, will also lead to dilution of the plaintiff’s reputation and goodwill,” the order said.
“She has garnered significant goodwill and reputation such that the members of the public repose their trust in the brands endorsed by her,” Justice Tejas Karia noted.
Personality rights of an individual “entail the right to control and protect the exploitation of one’s image, name, likeness or other attributes of the individual’s personality, in addition to the commercial gains that can be derived from the same”, the court said.
What are personality rights?
Personality rights refer to the right to protect one’s name, photograph or even voice from being used for commercial purposes without the celebrity’s consent, which also includes his or her name, a pose, or a mannerism.
Tushar Agarwal, a Supreme Court advocate, explained to Moneycontrol, “In the simplest sense, personality rights are the rights of famous personalities and celebrities whose name, voice, signature or any other personality trait has commercial value and can mobilise and influence the public at large.”
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