Pornographic content using Naga Chaitanya's persona to be taken down, orders Delhi HC

Naga Chaitanya (Pic via Chay Akkineni`s Instagram)

The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to Telugu film actor Akkineni Naga Chaitanya against the unauthorised use of his name, image, voice, likeness and other personality attributes on pornographic websites, online merchandise platforms and YouTube channels. The verdict was passed after the actor made a plea in court restricting the misuse of his persona online. The Court directed multiple defendants to remove the impugned content and comply with its directions within 24 hours of receiving the order.

Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order while hearing a commercial suit filed by the actor seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights against websites allegedly 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 noted that Naga Chaitanya is a well-known actor with an illustrious career spanning more than 15 years and has earned significant goodwill, reputation, and public recognition through his work in the Telugu and Hindi film industries. The order records that his name, image, and persona constitute valuable commercial assets cultivated through years of professional effort. The Court observed that the actor's personality rights extended to the protection of his name, likeness, voice, and image and that no third party could use these attributes without authorisation.

Referring to earlier decisions on celebrity personality rights, the Court held that unauthorised exploitation of a celebrity's persona can result not only in commercial harm but also affect the individual's privacy, dignity and reputation. Justice Singh further observed that the plaintiff was entitled to protection against the dissemination of pornographic content and AI-generated images portraying him in inappropriate scenarios.

According to the Court, such content has the potential to damage reputation and mislead the public into believing that the depictions are genuine. The Court found that certain defendants were allegedly selling merchandise bearing the actor's name, image and likeness without consent, thereby creating an impression of endorsement or affiliation. The Court observed that if such products were of inferior quality, it could further damage the goodwill and reputation painstakingly built by the actor over the years.

Relying on precedents relating to celebrity endorsement rights, the Court held that a celebrity's right of endorsement is a significant commercial interest and cannot be undermined by the unauthorised sale of merchandise exploiting the celebrity's persona.

The Court also restrained the concerned defendants from selling or facilitating the sale of merchandise infringing the actor's personality rights and directed the removal of specific online listings offering products bearing his name and likeness. In addition, the Court directed several websites allegedly hosting pornographic content linked with the actor's name to take down specified URLs. Google LLC was also directed to remove a list of identified YouTube videos and shorts alleged to be infringing the actor's personality rights.

(with inputs from ANI)