A Hyderabad court has barred companies and online platforms from using Chiranjeevi’s name, image, or voice for commercial gain without consent.
The actor argued that unauthorised merchandise and AI-generated content have misused his likeness and caused reputational harm.
The interim order recognises his “megastar” identity as a unique personal asset; the case will be heard next on October 27.
Court Bars Unauthorised Use of Actor Chiranjeevi’s Name, Image, and Voice
City Civil Court grants interim relief to the megastar, restraining over 30 entities from exploiting his personality rights.
Summary
A city court in an interim order has restrained various entities from using actor Chiranjeevi's name, image, voice for commercial purposes without permission.
Chiranjeevi had approached the City Civil Court, seeking an injunction restraining the over 30 defendants like digital media platforms, clothing companies, and other platforms, from using his image and name and titles associated with him and his personality.
The petition sought to protect his personality rights pertaining to his name, voice, image, any other attribute which is exclusively identifiable with him for any commercial and/or personal gain and/or otherwise by exploiting them in any manner whatsoever without his consent.
According to the court, Chiranjeevi is among the most recognisable figures in the Telugu and Southern cinema industries.
It said that the actor's name, along with other titles that are connected with him, like megastar, Chiranjeevi, Boss, Annayya, Chiru, and megastar Chiru, as well as his voice, image, and other distinguishing characteristics, are all components of his identity as a movie actor and artist.
"It is his USP and is well recognised in the general public" , stated the statement.
Last month, the court issued an interim order prohibiting the defendants from using Chiranjeevi's personality and publicity rights in any way, either directly or indirectly.
The case was postponed by the court until October 27.
According to Chiranjeevi's attorney, the defendants have been using his client's photos and stills from different movies, along with the names that are associated with him, such as gang leader, megastar, etc., on a variety of merchandise, including T-shirts and wall posters, and selling them on the open market through both physical retail stores and online portals without the petitioner's consent.
Furthermore, utilising artificial intelligence technology, the actor's appearance has been utilised to produce memes, videos, and images. According to the attorney, the actor has suffered significant social and financial harm as a result of this abuse of his personality.
Advertisement
According to the counsel, the defendants have been utilising his image to produce memes and images that give the impression that he is connected to different products and concepts, which has a negative impact on his reputation and status in society.
With PTI inputs.
Published At: