Explained - What Do Personality Rights mean? Why celebrities like Aishwarya Rai, Karan Johar and others are fighting to protect them

These rights are especially relevant for public figures like famous actors, athletes, and other influential people since their name is worth a lot of money.

In other words, Personality Rights indicate that no one can use a celebrity's face, voice, or even their catchphrases for advertising or profit without the person's permission. A argument that Aishwarya Rai's lawyer made in the Delhi High Court not long ago.

These rights also stop the prevent of unauthorised use of deepfake videos, AI-generated voices or made up images of the celebs.

Bollywood personalities take the legal route

Several Bollywood personalities have moved courts recently to protect their identity.

Anil Kapoor: In 2023, Anil Kapoor moved the court seeking protection from misuse of his iconic catchphrases like “jhakaas” and unauthorised use of his name, voice, and image. The court order specifically restricted AI-generated content imitating him.

Jackie Shroff: In May 2024, the veteran actor had also moved the Delhi High Court to protect his personality rights. He also sought to stop the misuse of his name, voice, images, and especially his signature phrase “Bhidu”.

Amitabh Bachchan: Big B has in the past fought against the unauthorised use of his voice and face, especially in advertisements and lottery tickets.

Abhishek Bachchan: He has raised objections and also moved Delhi HC stating his and wife Aishwarya's names were used in fake promotional schemes.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: The former Miss World and actress has been a frequent victim of morphed images and false endorsements online. She also moved the Delhi HC. The court has protected the personality rights of the actress, barring online platforms from illegally using her name, images for commercial gain.

The high court said when the identity of a famous personality is used without their consent or authorisation, it may not only lead to commercial detriment to the individual concerned but also impact their right to live with dignity.

"The courts in such cases of unauthorised exploitation of one's personality rights, cannot turn a blind-eye to the same and shall protect the aggrieved parties so as to avert any harm to them resulting from the said unauthorised exploitation," Justice Tejas Karia said in an order passed on September 9.

Why does it matter in the age of AI ?

With the rapid rise of digital content, deepfake technology, and meme culture, unauthorised use of celebrity images has become rampant.

A fake video or an AI-cloned voice of the actors spreads within hours, damaging their reputations and misleading audiences.

Fake endorsements can also trick consumers and their fans into believing a star has promoted a certain product, when in reality, no such association exists.

In politics, manipulated content featuring celebrities could even influence public opinion.

The right to publicity, popularly known as personality rights, is the right to protect, control, and profit from one's image, name, or likeness.

The Delhi High Court also said the unauthorised exploitation of the attributes of an individual's personality may have two facets – violation of their right to protect their personality attributes from being commercially exploited and violation of their "right to privacy", which in turn leads to undermining their "right to live with dignity".

India does not have a single codified law on personality rights. Instead, they are protected under constitutional provisions like the right to privacy (Article 21), intellectual property law, and judicial precedents.