Can’t use my name, photos, word ‘Bhidu’ without consent: Actor Jackie Shroff moves Delhi High Court

It was also submitted that the entities cannot be allowed to “mislead consumers” into thinking that the actor is endorsing certain products, when he is not. “He (Shroff) is so well-known that people will think it (alleged products) is endorsed by him. He has a right to use his name because he has a marketability to his name… I can understand you are showing a film where he has acted and you are showing his image where you have his consent or where you have licensed it from him. But this is not nominative fair use at all,” Anand said.

Anand also referred to the HC’s September 2023 interim order passed in actor Anil Kapoor’s case protecting the “misuse of his persona”. “I have given them (defendants) all an advance notice, that’s why six of them have come and said that they are taking down certain material. For personality rights, no approval was taken (by the defendants) from Shroff, hence the defendant entities have no defence,” Anand added.

Advocate Dhruv Anand, who also appeared for Shroff, said that the actor had an “exclusive right” to use his persona the way he wants to, as it’s “translating into money for them, which is their livelihood”. He said that in instances of GIFs using Shroff’s persona “if a fan” was making them commemorating the actor, it was “absolutely fine”, but it would have to be seen if that person’s “real intention was to earn money” off of it.