The Delhi High Court has passed a decree permanently protecting veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan’s personality and publicity rights, restraining several individuals and entities from commercially exploiting his name, image, voice, likeness or other attributes of his persona without his express consent.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the order on November 5, bringing to a conclusion the commercial suit instituted by Bachchan in 2022 against individuals and entities allegedly misusing his identity for commercial gain.
The Court decreed the suit against four defendants pursuant to a settlement reached between the parties. It also granted relief against other defendants who had failed to appear before the Court or file their written statements, extending the protection to unidentified infringers, commonly described as ‘John Does’.
The settlement was reached with four defendants, including Rajat Nagi, developer of a mobile application titled ‘Amitabh Bachchan Video Call’; Manoj Publications, which had published a general knowledge quiz book featuring the actor’s photograph; a seller of posters bearing his images; and Mahesh Patel, who had registered the domain name amitabhbachchan.in.
Under the settlement terms, the defendants acknowledged Bachchan’s publicity rights and right to privacy and undertook not to exploit any aspect of his personality, including his name, photograph, voice and likeness, without obtaining his prior permission.
Nagi informed the Court that steps had been taken to remove the mobile application, while Manoj Publications confirmed discontinuation of the quiz book carrying the actor’s image. The poster seller also undertook to stop selling the merchandise, while Patel stated that the domain name had been deleted in November 2022 and that he had not earned any monetary benefit from it.
The undertakings are binding on the defendants as well as their legal heirs, representatives and business assigns. In consideration of the settlement, Bachchan gave up his claims for damages and other monetary reliefs against these four defendants.
The High Court also proceeded against four other defendants who, despite service of summons, neither entered appearance nor submitted written statements. Their right to file written statements had already been closed on September 25, 2023.
Taking note of the absence of any defence disputing the actor’s claims, the Court found no justification for sending the matter to trial merely to record evidence that would reiterate the pleadings.
The Court also referred to the principles governing the exercise of power under Order VIII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, observing that the provision cannot be invoked mechanically. In the present case, however, the pleadings disclosed no disputed factual issue warranting a trial.
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