Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has turned to the Delhi High Court to safeguard his personality rights after discovering that his image, voice and other personal traits were being used commercially without his permission.
The court’s recent order on December 11 could have significant implications for celebrities fighting unauthorised use of their likeness online.
Court directs social media platforms to act
On Thursday, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora instructed various social media intermediaries to treat Salman Khan’s suit as a formal complaint under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
After that, the platforms have been given a strict timeline of three days to take appropriate action.
The order was part of a broader suit filed by Salman against multiple defendants including unknown entities commonly referred to as John Does. These defendants are accused of using the actor’s persona. This includes his images, voice, and other distinctive traits. They did so for commercial purposes without his consent.
During the hearing, Justice Arora referred to previous rulings in similar cases asking senior advocate Sandeep Sethi representing Salman to be aware of an earlier order involving actor Ajay Devgn.
The court emphasised that in such matters, plaintiffs should first lodge complaints with social media platforms before approaching the courts.
Interim relief and non-social media defendants
While directing social media platforms to act promptly, the court also indicated that it would pass an interim order for defendants who are not social media intermediaries, including e-commerce platforms selling unauthorised merchandise featuring Salman Khan’s image.
Senior advocate Sethi requested that the court extend relief to these other parties. He went on to argue that their commercial exploitation of the actor’s personality should also be in the address. Then the court sought detailed information about these defendants and their activities before passing final order.
The court’s instructions included a specific reference to an online account using the handle “Being in Touch”. It reportedly violates Salman’s registered trademark of the same name.
The concerned platform has received direction to consider intellectual property rights before taking any sort of action.
What this means for social media and e-commerce platforms
The Delhi High Court’s order makes it clear that social media intermediaries cannot ignore complaints about personality rights. They must respond promptly and rightly investigate the claims. And, they should also remove content or block accounts violating these very rights.
For non-intermediary defendants that include online marketplaces selling merchandise with a celebrity’s image, the court has indicated that interim orders will follow afterwards. This step is to ensure that those benefiting commercially from unauthorised use face legal scrutiny.