Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court issued an interim order preventing various e-commerce platforms, AI chatbots, and social media platforms from misusing actor Jackie Shroff’s image, name, likeness, or mannerisms. This landmark decision aims to protect the actor’s personality rights. In light of this ruling, Shroff has now released a statement on the matter. Thanking the court for the order in his statement, Jackie Shroff expressed his gratitude and referred to previous similar judgements protecting the personality rights of colleagues Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor.
I am immensely grateful to the judiciary for passing an order that safeguards my personality rights, including my name, image, likeness, voice, and other unique attributes. For a long time, celebrities had little to no recourse against the misuse of their persona. However, I am heartened by the fact that courts have progressively recognized and protected these rights, as demonstrated in landmark cases involving Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and Mr. Anil Kapoor. These precedents have been very encouraging and motivated me to assert my rights.
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, particularly with the advent of digital media, it is crucial to control any unauthorized use and misuse of celebrity attributes. Celebrities wield significant influence, and such abuse can mislead the public regarding a celebrity's association with certain goods or services. The misuse of celebrity personas not only dilutes our brand equity but also misguides the public at large.
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The Delhi High Court appreciated our case and recognized the necessity of protecting the personality rights of celebrities, given our wide reach to the masses. The court has upheld my personality rights and issued an injunction against those misusing my name, image, likeness, voice, and other personal attributes. This protection extends to all forms of media, including digital platforms, and specifically prohibits the use of AI, deep fakes, GIFs, AI chatbots, and similar technologies to exploit my persona without my explicit permission. Protecting my personality rights is essential to preserving the authenticity and respect associated with my life's work. It also protects my fans from being misled by unscrupulous elements of society. I thank the judiciary for their support in this regard.