When a brand uses a Bollywood star's face in an advertisement without consent, or when an AI tool generates a fake endorsement video using a cricketer's likeness, what legal recourse does the celebrity have? India does not yet have a standalone "personality rights" statute — but courts are increasingly recognising and enforcing these rights through a patchwork of existing laws. For public figures — actors, athletes, musicians, politicians, and influencers — understanding this legal landscape is essential.
What Are Personality Rights?
Personality rights (also called the "right of publicity" in American law) refer to a person's right to control the commercial use of their name, image, likeness, voice, signature, and other distinctive personal attributes. They protect the economic value of a person's identity — the ability to choose who can use their name to sell products, and to be compensated for such use.
Personality rights are distinct from privacy rights (which protect against intrusion into private life) and defamation rights (which protect against false statements). They specifically address the commercial exploitation of a person's identity — whether or not it involves any private information or false statements.
Legal Basis in India
India does not have a dedicated personality rights statute. However, courts have recognised and protected personality rights through multiple legal frameworks:
- Constitutional basis: The Supreme Court's recognition of the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution (in the Puttaswamy judgment, 2017) extends to a person's right to control their own image and identity.
- Trademark law: Registering a celebrity name, stage name, signature, or distinctive phrase as a trademark provides statutory protection against commercial misuse.
- Passing off: The common law tort of passing off protects against misrepresentations that create a false impression of endorsement or association — the most frequently used remedy in celebrity image cases.
- Copyright: A celebrity's photographs (taken by a hired photographer, with assignment of rights) and their audiovisual performances can be protected under the Copyright Act.
- IT Act and IT Rules 2021: Relevant to deepfake content and impersonation on digital platforms.
Trademark Protection for Celebrity Names
One of the most practical steps a celebrity or public figure can take is to register their name, stage name, or distinctive persona as a trademark. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 permits registration of a person's name as a trademark in classes relevant to the celebrity's field — and in ancillary classes covering merchandise, entertainment, and endorsements.
Registration provides the strongest form of protection because it:
- Creates a statutory presumption of ownership and exclusive right to use the name commercially
- Enables civil and criminal proceedings for infringement without needing to prove reputation each time
- Allows customs authorities to intercept counterfeit merchandise at ports
- Provides a clear basis to object to domain names or social media handles using the celebrity's name
The challenge for celebrities is that common names may face objections on grounds of being a common surname under Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act. However, where sufficient evidence of acquired distinctiveness through fame is provided — news articles, social media following, brand endorsement history — registration can proceed.
Passing Off: Misrepresentation of Endorsement
The most commonly invoked legal remedy for personality rights violations in India is the tort of passing off. To succeed in a passing off action, a plaintiff must establish:
- Goodwill: The celebrity has goodwill in their name, image, or persona
- Misrepresentation: The defendant's use of the celebrity's identity creates a false impression that the celebrity endorses the product or service
- Damage: This misrepresentation causes or is likely to cause damage to the celebrity's goodwill
Indian courts — particularly the Delhi High Court — have granted passing off injunctions in numerous cases involving unauthorised use of celebrity images in advertising, counterfeit merchandise bearing celebrity names and faces, and fake social media endorsements purportedly made by public figures.
AI Deepfakes and Digital Personality Rights
The emergence of AI-generated deepfake technology has created an urgent new dimension to personality rights. A deepfake can place a celebrity's face onto a stranger's body, generate a realistic video of them endorsing a product they have never seen, or create audio recordings of them saying things they never said. These violations may simultaneously infringe personality rights, constitute defamation (where the fake content is damaging), and violate the IT Act.
India's IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2021 already require platforms to act on complaints about impersonation, fake accounts, and misleading content. However, specific deepfake regulation is still evolving — the Ministry of Electronics and IT has indicated that targeted amendments are being considered. Until then, celebrities and public figures can seek injunctions through courts by combining personality rights, passing off, and IT Act claims.
Recent Cases: Delhi High Court Developments
The Delhi High Court has been at the forefront of developing India's personality rights jurisprudence. In 2024-25, the Court addressed the Allu Arjun personality rights case — involving the actor's distinctive "Pushpa" character persona being used in merchandise and digital content without authorisation. The Court's approach distinguished between different categories of use: fan practices, commercial merchandise, and AI-driven misuse each raised different legal considerations.
The Court has also recognised the right of publicity in earlier cases involving cricketers and Bollywood actors — consistently holding that a celebrity's persona has commercial value that cannot be appropriated without consent or fair compensation. Dynamic injunctions — which extend to cover future iterations of the same infringing conduct across platforms — have also been granted in some celebrity cases.
How Public Figures Can Protect Their Image
A practical framework for celebrities and public figures to protect their personality rights includes:
- Trademark registration: Register name, stage name, signature, and distinctive phrases in relevant classes before someone else does — particularly in Classes 41 (entertainment) and 45 (personal services).
- Copyright assignment: Ensure that professional photographs, performance recordings, and promotional materials are under proper copyright agreements with rights clearly assigned to you.
- Endorsement contracts: Use carefully drafted endorsement agreements that specify exactly what uses are permitted, for what duration, and in what territories — preventing "scope creep" by brands.
- Digital monitoring: Use image recognition and brand monitoring tools to track unauthorised use of your images and likeness across the web and social platforms.
- Platform verification: Ensure official verified accounts on all major platforms — reducing the impact of fake impersonation accounts.
- Merchandise licensing: Register designs used on official merchandise and consider design registration for distinctive visual elements of your brand persona.
Conclusion
India's personality rights framework is evolving rapidly — driven by court decisions, digital media growth, and the emergence of AI. While a dedicated statute would provide clearer and stronger protection, the existing combination of trademark law, passing off, copyright, and constitutional privacy rights offers meaningful remedies for public figures whose identity is commercially exploited without consent. The key is proactive protection — register trademarks, monitor usage, and act quickly when infringement is detected.
For assistance with trademark registration, endorsement agreements, or legal action against personality rights violations, contact Nikhil Soni & Co. →
Is your name, image, or persona being used without your consent?
Adv. Nikhil Soni advises celebrities, athletes, and influencers on personality rights protection — from trademark registration to High Court injunctions against deepfakes and unauthorised merchandise.