Delhi High Court Protects Jaya Bachchan’s Personality Rights
The Delhi High Court has ordered strong protection for the personality rights of veteran actor and Member of Parliament Jaya Bachchan.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed an injunction directing the blocking of AI-generated content and the removal of unauthorised merchandise from websites, social media accounts, and e-commerce platforms that were misusing her name and image.
Bachchan had approached the Court against several online entities that were using her photographs, likeness, and persona to sell products or create content without permission. She also made Google, YouTube, Meta, Amazon, and eBay parties to the case.
Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Bachchan, informed the Court that various YouTube channels, social media accounts, and websites were not only selling products featuring her face but also generating AI-based videos falsely showing her likeness.
After hearing the case, Justice Arora agreed that such unauthorised use violated Bachchan’s personality rights and directed action against the infringing parties.
However, the Court refused to restrain Amazon from selling posters of Abhimaan (1973), a film starring Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan. Justice Arora clarified that the copyright in the film belongs to the producer, and selling official posters of the movie does not infringe Jaya Bachchan’s individual rights.
“Right now, I am not inclined to do this. I will direct them to provide Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) details. This is not even hurting you. You do not have any copyright in this,” the judge said.
Advocate Sethi, however, argued that the poster being sold was not an original and that copyright could not override an individual’s personality rights. But the Court remained unconvinced, observing that the sale of such posters was not as blatant as the other misuse reported.
This makes Jaya Bachchan the fourth member of the Bachchan family to approach the Delhi High Court to protect their personality rights. Earlier, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan had all obtained similar injunctions against the misuse of their name, image, and persona.
Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared along with Ameet Naik, Dhruv Anand, and Madhu Gadodia for Jaya Bachchan.
