Personality Rights | PWOnlyIAS 2023

September 23, 2023

GS Paper II Indian Polity and Governance

Subject: GS-02: Polity and Governance

Context: The Delhi High Court recently granted requests to protect personality rights from potential misuse by third parties.

About Personality Rights:

The name, voice, signature, images or any other feature easily identified by the public are markers of a celebrity’s personality and are referred loosely as “personality rights.” hese could include a pose, a mannerism or any aspect of their personality.
- Many celebrities even register some aspects as a trademark to use them commercially. For example, Usain Bolt’s “bolting” or lightning pose is a registered trademark.
The idea is that only the owner or creator of these distinct features has the right to derive any commercial benefit from it.
Exclusivity is a big factor in attracting commercial dividends for celebrities. So unauthorized use causes a tangible loss of revenue.
Celebrities can move the Court and seek a prohibitory order when an unauthorized third party uses their personality rights for commercial purposes.

A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights.

Trademarks can be acquired by an individual, business organization, or any legal entity.
In India, provisions concerning the registration of trademarks are governed by The Trade Marks Act of 1999, The Trade Marks Rules of 2002, and The Trade Marks (Amendment) Rules of 2017.

Are personality rights different from publicity rights?

Personality rights are different from publicity rights.Personality rights consist of two types of rights:
- The right of publicity: The right to keep one’s image and likeness from being commercially exploited without permission or contractual compensation, which is similar (but not identical) to the use of a trademark.
- The right to privacy: The right to not have one’s personality represented publicly without permission.
Publicity rights are governed by statutes like the Trade marks Act 1999 and the Copyright Act 1957.

How does the law protect personality rights?

Personality rights or their protection are not expressly mentioned in a statute in India but are traced to fall under the right to privacy and the right to property.
Many concepts in intellectual property rights used in protection of trademarks such as passing off, deception can be applied while deciding whether a celebrity deserves to be protected through an injunction.
Ex-parte injunction: Under this, relief is granted to a party without hearing the other side.