Karan Johar moves Delhi HC seeking protection of personality rights

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

Filmmaker and producer Karan Johar on Monday approached the Delhi High Court, seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights.

The plea came up for hearing before Justice Manmeet PS Arora, who sought certain clarifications from the counsel for Johar and listed the matter for 4 pm for further proceedings.

Besides protection of his personality and publicity rights, Johar has also urged the court to pass an order directing certain websites and platforms not to illegally sell merchandise, including mugs and t-shirts, bearing his name and image.

"I have a right to ensure that no one unauthorisedly uses my persona, face or voice,” senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, appearing for Johar, said.

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 petition comes just a few months after veteran filmmaker Karan Johar won another legal battle in the Bombay High Court concerning the use of his name in a film’s title.

On May 7, the court ruled in favour of Johar, stating that the ban on the film Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar was justified because it used the director’s name without permission in a wrong manner.

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As reported by PTI, the court pointed out that this kind of use of Johar's name might damage his reputation and give the filmmakers an unfair advantage over his notoriety. This ruling maintained a previous order dated March 7, 2025, that had prevented the movie's release.

Karan Johar had gone to court to argue that he had nothing to do with the movie and had never given his consent for his name to be used.

(With inputs from PTI)