HC bars use of Aishwarya's name, image and voice without consent

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday protected the interests of actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan by restraining entities from commercially exploiting her name, image and voice without consent, concluding that unauthorised use of a celebrity's identity not only causes commercial harm but also infringes upon their right to live with dignity.

- Shruti Kakkar

A bench of justice Tejas Karia delivered the order in a petition filed by the actor seeking protection of her name, image, voice and other distinctive personality attributes.

In her suit, Bachchan said that various people were infringing her publicity and personality rights by using her name, voice and video for illegal commercial purposes, morphing her image using artificial intelligence and other technology on video clips, including those of a pornographic nature.

In his 16-page order, the judge directed several entities to remove within 72 hours the URLs infringing on the actor’s personality rights, noting that unauthorised use of her persona could mislead the public and create a false impression of her endorsement.