NEW DELHI: The  Delhi High Court has issued a prohibition on various entities from using actor Jackie Shroff’s name, including aliases like 'Jackie,' 'Jaggu Dadda' and 'Bhidu'voice, and images for commercial purposes without permission and the ruling will now protect the actor's control over his public image. 

A single bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula stated that entities selling wallpapers, T-shirts, posters, etc., on e-commerce platforms, and operating an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platform were prima facie violating the actor’s personality and publicity rights by exploiting and misappropriating his attributes. The court order restricts social media accounts, AI chatbots, and e-commerce websites from using Shroff’s name, voice, or likeness for commercial purposes without his explicit permission. 

In his plea Shroff had said that his name and aliases is protected under the personality/publicity rights and trademark law, the plea said. "In addition to his voice, the plaintiff has unique ways of delivering his dialogues, for which the plaintiff has become popular. Certain Hindi films have become popular only because of certain signature dialogues of the plaintiff… In fact, on many occasions, the style is brought about by the plaintiff himself through improvisation on set," the plea said.

Last year, the Delhi High Court had restrained the misuse of Anil Kapoor’s name, image, voice, and other attributes of his persona for commercial gain. Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor played brothers in the Bollywood film 'Ram Lakhan' directed by Subhash Ghai.  Drawing parallels with Anil Kapoor's successful protection of his trademark phrase 'jhakaas' Shroff had sought similar legal protection for his distinctive persona. 

The court’s decision highlights the ongoing legal concerns surrounding the unauthorised use of an individual’s persona, image, or other identifying characteristics for commercial purposes. This interim order serves as a reminder to businesses and entrepreneurs operating in the online space to be mindful of an individual’s intellectual property rights and to seek the necessary permissions before using their attributes for commercial gain.

The judge additionally ordered action against two content creators who posted videos featuring Shroff that included highly offensive language and insults. The court acknowledged Shroff’s celebrity status and recognised that this granted him legal protections over his image and personal characteristics.