Actor Naga Chaitanya scored a big victory in the Delhi High Court on Monday in his plea to protect his personality rights. The court granted the actor interim protection against the unauthorised use of his name, image, voice, likeness and other personality attributes on pornographic websites, online merchandise platforms and YouTube channels.
Delhi HC protects Naga Chaitanya’s personality rights
On Monday, Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order while hearing a commercial suit filed by the actor seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights. Chaitanya had alleged that many sites were hosting pornographic content, AI-generated deepfakes, defamatory material and unauthorised merchandise exploiting his identity.
After considering the pleadings and documents on record, the Court held that the plaintiff had established a prima facie case for the grant of an ex parte ad interim injunction.
The court order noted that Naga Chaitanya is a well-known actor with a career spanning over 15 years, during which time he has earned goodwill, reputation and public recognition. The actor, son of Telugu superstar Nagarjuna, has worked primarily in the Telugu film industry with some appearances in Hindi films as well.
The order records that Chaitanya’s name, image and persona constitute valuable commercial assets cultivated through years of professional effort. The order detailed that his personality rights extended to the protection of his name, likeness, voice and image, adding that no third party could use these attributes without authorisation.
The Court found that certain defendants allegedly sold merchandise bearing the actor’s name, image, and likeness without consent, which created an impression of endorsement or affiliation. The Court said that if such products were of inferior quality, they could further damage the actor’s goodwill and reputation.
In its order, the Court directed all the defendants to remove the impugned content and comply with its directions within 24 hours of receiving the order. The Court also restrained the concerned defendants from selling or facilitating the sale of merchandise infringing the actor’s personality rights. Google LLC was also directed to remove a list of identified YouTube videos and shorts alleged to be infringing the actor’s personality rights.
The restraint specifically extends to the use of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Machine Learning, deepfakes, AI chatbots, and face-morphing tools.
About Naga Chaitanya
Part of the Akkineni–Daggubati family of Telugu cinema, Naga Chaitanya is the son of actor Nagarjuna and the grandson of cine icon, A Nageswara Rao. After making his acting debut with Josh in 2009, he appeared in hits such as Manam, Premam, Majili, Venky Mama, Love Story, and Bangarraju. In 2022, he made his Hindi film debut with Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha. In 2005, he starred in Thandel, his most successful film to date.