Amitabh Bachchan recently moved the Delhi High Court to seek protection of his personality rights. The actor’s voice and images have been widely used in various places over the years and now Big B has sought protection. A lawyer who was part of the team representing him in the case said their intention was “not to take anything from anybody”. Ameet Naik, who was part of the team, also said the court order has prospective effect.
“The intention of this is not to take anything away from anyone, it is to come to Mr Bachchan. It should be with his consent and I think it is owed to every individual that what you do must come with your consent,” he said. he said. Bachchan filed a writ petition seeking protection in the Delhi High Court, following which the court granted an ex-parte interim injunction in his favour. The actor was represented by eminent lawyer Harish Salve along with Ameet Naik and Pravin Anand. The matter was heard before Justice Navin Chawla. “This is a suit filed by Mr. Bachchan on personality, which means all his attributes, his voice, his image, his photography and his dialogue delivery,” Naik told ANI.
“The basis of the action was that in October, Mr. Bachchan through us lawyers realized that there was abuse in the lottery where his likeness was being used, in the voice call, in the fake video call, so obviously notices were issued before that. but it is extremely difficult to monitor, which is why in October when we realized that this lawsuit had been filed. Stating that this action was against 8 known defendants and then the world, he said, “This is a hybrid action which is against the world at large, which is an unknown defendant. So Justice Chawla made a very interesting order. It basically prevents anyone from using the name Mr. Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Bachchan, AB or Big B, his image, his photo and his voice. This is an absolute order, there are no cuts in it without his permission.” READ ALSO: Amitabh Bachchan moves Delhi HC against ‘illegal’ use of his voice, images
During the trial, the Delhi High Court was also informed that the alleged infringers had illegally registered the Bachchan name as web domain names such as www.amitabhbachchan.com and www.amitabhbachchan.in. Naik said they also relied on recent literature where certain domain names and fake domain names were registered in Bachchan’s name. “Delhi High Court in pursuance of clauses 3 and 4 and the Department of Telecommunications has issued a direction to remove these websites.
Asked if there was any restriction on anything that could be done commercially or non-commercially without his permission, Naik said, “No, whatever he wishes to do is up to Mr. Bachchan himself and please understand that it is misuse, about his image. There is no dispute that Mr. Bachchan is a personality, there is no dispute that he has earned a good name, there is no dispute that he has earned a reputation. Talking about previous ads where Bachchan’s name or voice could have been used.
“The order is prospective in nature. It will have to be evaluated and whether there has been any abuse, the question is where it comes from and where it dates back to, it will all be a matter of interpretation, but the fact is that the order is prospective in nature,” he said .
READ ALSO: RIP Vikram Gokhale: Akshay Kumar and other Bollywood stars mourn the loss
(With ANI inputs)
