Delhi High Court grants Amitabh Bachchan interim personality rights relief

In November 2022, the Delhi High Court granted actor Amitabh Bachchan interim protection of his personality rights. The order came in a civil suit he filed against unnamed parties and some companies that were using his identity without permission.

Bachchan argued that his name, voice, image and distinctive persona had been used commercially without his consent, including on merchandise and in promotions that suggested he endorsed products. The court's interim order restrained such unauthorised use while the case was pending, and it covered the actor's name, likeness and voice.

Personality rights, sometimes called publicity rights, let public figures control the commercial use of their identity. Indian law has no dedicated statute on them, so courts have built the protection case by case, drawing on principles such as passing off (misleading the public about who is behind a product) and privacy. The order was an early example of a wave of similar suits by Indian celebrities, and it set the stage for the later request for longer-lasting protection.