Actor Amitabh Bachchan filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court to have his personality rights protected.
People in India are heavily influenced by celebrity-endorsed products, so it is not surprising that their consumption in regular households occurs, whether the product is an affordable daily-use item like an energy drink promoted by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli or an expensive one like gold or diamonds. Let’s understand the position and framework of laws that are in effect in India that deal with the protection of the rights of celebrities and famous figures, also known as personality rights or celebrity rights, in a country like India where people worship celebrities like actors, cricket players, or even politicians as "larger than life" figures.
What are Personality Rights?
Personality rights refer to a right of a person related to his or her personality which can be protected under the right to privacy or as property of a person. This is important to most celebrities because the public uses their name for trades, and this usage influences their sale and other practices as well. People can misuse their name or image very easily for personal trade, therefore it is necessary for renowned figures to register their names to save their personality rights. (Also Read: Amitabh Bachchan files civil suit to seek protection of personality rights in Delhi High Court)
Personality right in Indian law
The closest statute to protect personality rights is Article 21 of the Constitution of India under rights to privacy and publicity. Under intellectual property law, there are other statutory provisions that govern and safeguard personality rights more widely. For example, under the Copyright Act of 1957, moral rights are exclusively granted to authors and performers, which including actors, singers, musicians, dancers, etc.
A person's right to their personality and image is their ability to manage how their persona—their persona in the form of their voice, signature, likeness, appearance, silhouette, feature, face, expression, gesture, mannerism, and distinctive character—is used and commercialised.
As a very broad term, personality rights have been interpreted by courts in a variety of contexts to uphold celebrities' rights. The Madras High Court noted in Shivaji Rao Gaikwad vs. Varsha Productions that although "Personality Rights" is not defined in any Indian statute, Indian courts have recognised it in a number of judgments, which are further discussed as follows. The case was brought by renowned Indian actor Mr Rajinikanth.
Recently, Amitabh Bachhan filed a suit in Delhi High Court seeking protection of publicity rights against the Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) lottery scam.
Personality rights in foreign countries
In the United States of America and the United Kingdom, there is no specific statute which has been created for the purpose of dealing with personality rights alone. However, the US provides for protection with respect to false endorsements, associations and affiliations whereas in Germany protection to image and personality rights in both Torts and other statutes such as Trademark Law, Copyright in works of Art and Photography Act, German Civil Code and Unfair Competition Law are given and in Canada both laws of torts and statutory laws cover the subject matter.
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 "Explained: What are personality rights and why Amitabh Bachchan filed plea in Delhi HC over them")
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