The Delhi High Court has issued an interim injunction in favor of actor and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. The injunction restrains various online platforms and entities from exploiting Kalyan’s name, image, voice, and other personal attributes for commercial purposes. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora granted this order to safeguard Kalyan’s personality and publicity rights against unauthorized usage.
The court acknowledged Kalyan’s significant brand value developed over his long career in Telugu cinema and public life. It recognized his proprietary rights over his personality attributes due to his celebrity status. The order addressed the misuse of Kalyan’s persona by entities selling unauthorized merchandise, hosting misleading event listings, and generating AI-generated content without consent.
Noting that such unauthorized use violated Kalyan’s personality rights, the court emphasized the potential irreparable harm caused by the continued availability of such content. The injunction prohibits identified infringing parties and John Doe entities from using Kalyan’s attributes for commercial purposes without consent. E-commerce platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, and Meesho were directed to remove infringing products and disclose seller details to Kalyan.
Websites misusing Kalyan’s identity were instructed to remove offending links promptly. Additionally, AI platforms were restrained from creating content infringing on Kalyan’s personality rights. The court allowed certain fan accounts on social media to continue, provided they clearly state that they are fan pages. Google and Meta were directed to provide necessary information to identify violators of Kalyan’s rights.
