Leader Online Desk: The Delhi High Court has clarified that no person or organization can use the voice, name and photographs of actor Jackie Shroff for commercial purposes. The petition was filed by Jackie Shroff demanding legal action and a fine of Rs 2 crore 1 thousand against those using his name, photo, voice and Bhidu words without permission.
What did the high court say?
The High Court has banned the use of Jackie Shroff's name, nicknames 'Jackie' and 'Jaggu Dada', voice and photographs. On Tuesday, May 14, the actor approached the Delhi High Court for this. His plea was heard before a single bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula. Justice Narula made it clear that any person or organization using actor Jackie Shroff's voice, name and photographs will be banned from 'organisations selling wallpapers, T-shirts and posters etc. on e-commerce websites and organizations operating artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platforms. Nyalyon also observed that Jackie Shroff's right to personality and publicity is being violated by misusing his features.
Delhi High Court protects personality rights of Jackie Shroff; Restrains misuse of name, images, voice
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Notices issued to both
The court clarified that various organizations have gained commercial benefits by unauthorized appropriation of Jackie Shroff's personality traits. They have used the actor's name, image, voice and other distinctive features without permission. This violates his personality and publicity rights. The court has issued notices to some other organizations regarding the violation of Jackie Shroff's rights. It alleges that a YouTube content creator made defamatory videos. Another restaurant owner was reported to be using the registered trademark 'Bhidu' for his outlet.
What was Jackie Shroff's demand?
Jackie Shroff has a huge fan base in Bollywood. His pronunciation of the word Bhidu is a thrill for the fans. He is also known for his acting. Jackie has expressed displeasure at the use of her personality without permission. Against this, he filed a petition in the Delhi High Court today (May 14). Jackie Shroff has mentioned in his petition that he wants rights regarding his name, choice and use of the word Bhidu. In the petition, he also demanded that legal action should be taken against those using his name, photo, voice and Bhidu words without permission and a fine of Rs 2 crore 1 thousand should be imposed. The High Court has now issued summons against all the accused and the court directed the MEITY (Department of Technology and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) to remove all such links.
What did Jackie Shroff's lawyer say?
Jackie's lawyer Praveen Anand had told the court that Jackie Shroff's image is being tarnished. His name is being misused in obscene memes. Apart from this, his voice is also being misused. Violation of their rights should be stopped. There has also been a demand to ban the actor from using different names like Jackie Shroff, Jackie, Jaggu Dada and Bhidu on any platform.
'Ya' Kalakars also took a run to the court for publicity rights
This is not the first time that a Bollywood actor has sought help from the court for publicity rights. Earlier, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan had moved the Bombay High Court to stop the folk actor from copying and using his voice without his consent. Last year, Anil Kapoor had also moved the Delhi High Court to protect his personality rights. He sought protection of the speech title, 'Zakas', his name, voice, manner of speaking, image, likeness and body language. The court heard the petitions of Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor and gave them both the protection of the law for their publicity rights.
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