Delhi HC: Personality Rights Can’t Curb Parody Without Commercial Use
By Business Desk
Delhi High Court rules personality rights shouldn’t stifle parody or caricature unless commercially exploited. Partial relief granted to Physics Wallah founder Alakh Pandey.
The Delhi High Court recently cautioned against using personality rights to suppress parody, caricature, or lampooning that lacks commercial exploitation. This significant observation arose during a case involving Alakh Pandey, the founder of Physics Wallah, who sought protection for his identity.
Pandey’s petition detailed unauthorized monetization of his name and image across various internet platforms and users. He cited social media posts, sticker packs, videos, and websites, asserting some content was sexually vulgar and explicit.
Court’s Specific Protections
In an interim order issued on August 5, Justice Anup J Bhambhani granted specific protections to Pandey. The court’s directive covered three distinct types of violations:
- Content deemed sexually vulgar.
- Commercial exploitation of his personality without a license.
- Instances of impersonation.
Balancing Rights and Expression
The court voiced concerns that an overly broad interpretation of personality rights could be misapplied. It emphasized these rights should not prevent the disclosure of wrongdoing or stifle entire genres of expression.
This includes caricature, lampooning, or parody, provided they do not involve the commercial exploitation of an individual’s personality or publicity rights. Consequently, the protection granted was limited strictly to the three violations identified in Pandey’s complaint.
Online platforms received instructions to remove the specified offending content. Other prominent public figures, including actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, have also previously secured interim relief for similar personality and publicity rights infringements from the high court.