New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, while hearing actress Kriti Sanon’s petition, made significant observations on the scope of personality rights. The court clarified that the use of a person’s name, photograph, voice or identity is not unlawful in itself. However, unauthorised use of identity, falsely showing an association with someone, or content that harms privacy and dignity may become the basis for legal action.
The bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said personality rights are not one independent legal right, but a group of several distinct claims. These may include protections available under privacy, reputation, publicity rights, passing off, and copyright and trademark laws. According to the court, the publicity right that protects the commercial value of a person’s identity can be licensed, while personal interests such as privacy, dignity and reputation cannot be transferred to another person.
The court also said these rights are not limited only to celebrities, but are available to every person. Fame may determine the commercial value of an identity, but being famous is not necessary to acquire the rights.
Kriti Sanon had sought relief from the court against the alleged misuse of her name, photograph, likeness and voice, AI-generated obscene deepfakes, and fake social media accounts. The High Court directed the removal of identified objectionable content and imposed an interim restraint on the dissemination of similar material. However, the court clarified that the restraint would not apply to news, reviews, criticism, satire, parody and fan expression.
The court made it clear that its observations are prima facie and the next hearing in the matter will be on December 10.
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