Delhi HC Permanently Decrees Amitabh Bachchan’s Personality Rights Suit
The Delhi High Court permanently restrained various entities and “John Doe” platforms from unauthorized commercial exploitation of actor Amitabh Bachchan’s name, image, voice, and persona. Decreeing the 2022 suit following voluntary settlements and non-appearances, the Court confirmed that publicity rights fall under the broader ambit of privacy and identity protection. The permanent injunction extends to unnamed online entities (John Doe) to curb recurring unauthorized products, lottery scams, AI voice impersonations, and domain squatted attributes like `amitabhbachchan.in`.
Bombay HC Grants Dynamic Injunction to Protect INR 2,000-Crore Film Ramayana
The Bombay High Court granted a comprehensive dynamic injunction to protect the upcoming multi-part film Ramayana from unauthorized online leaks, pre-release piracy, and illegal cam-recording. Moving proactively given the ₹2,000-crore budget, the production house secured orders requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and social media platforms to dynamically block infringing domains, rogue mirrors, and unauthorized video clips ahead of its global release. The ruling reinforces India’s judicial trend of safeguarding mega-budget cinematographic assets via preventive, expanding injunctions.
Delhi HC Grants Partial Protection to Kriti Sanon, Clarifying Personality Rights Scope
In an action filed by actor Kriti Sanon against deepfakes, sexually explicit morphed media, and unauthorized merchandise, the Delhi High Court granted target-specific ad-interim relief while refusing an omnibus injunction. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav observed that “personality rights” is not a single broad cause of action but must be tested across distinct sub-claims like defamation, false endorsement, and privacy violations. The Court ordered immediate takedowns of deepfakes and explicit content via specific URLs while explicitly preserving legitimate news reporting, satire, parody, and bona fide fan expressions.
Bombay HC Safeguards Ananya Panday’s personality rights against Unauthorized Commercial Exploitation
The Bombay High Court granted interim relief to actress Ananya Panday, restraining digital vendors, e-commerce platforms, and rogue social media accounts from using her name, photographs, visual likeness, and digital avatars for commercial gain. The suit challenged unauthorized merchandise sales, AI deepfake creations, and deceptive brand association. The order underscores the growing willingness of the Bombay High Court to curb identity theft and synthetic monetization across digital commerce ecosystems.
Delhi HC Restrains Infringing Movie Doosra, Directs INR 2 Crore Security Deposit Over Sourav Ganguly’s Rights
The Delhi High Court restrained the distribution and release of the film Doosra after finding that its storyline, promotion, and framing infringed upon the personality and publicity rights of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly without his consent. Observing a strong prima facie case of commercial appropriation of Ganguly’s life achievements and persona, the Court directed the producers to deposit ₹2 crore as security to compensate for unauthorized exploitation before pursuing any further commercial rollout.
Bombay HC Restrains Morphed Sexually Explicit Media Targeting Radhe Maa
Taking severe exception to digital gender abuse and unauthorized image manipulation, the Bombay High Court ordered major social media platforms and ISPs to immediately remove morphed, sexually explicit videos and images targeting religious figure Radhe Maa. The Court held that hosting non-consensual synthetic media violates individual dignity and systemic platform obligations, issuing strict takedown mandates across all reported web links.
Bombay HC Directs Takedown of Defamatory Digital Content Targeting Actor Rupali Ganguly
The Bombay High Court directed social media platforms and digital content creators to remove unauthorized defamatory posts and abusive video campaigns targeting television actor Rupali Ganguly. The Court noted that public commentary on celebrities cannot cross into orchestrated harassment or character assassination, mandating swift deletion of the flagged URLs to prevent ongoing harm to her reputation and mental well-being.
Plea in Madras HC Seeks Uniform Police Guidelines for Handling Social Media Speech Complaints
An advocate, H. Syed Alim, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) to frame uniform guidelines governing police action on complaints involving social media posts, political criticism, satire and online speech. The petitioner alleged that criminal cases and arrests have been initiated against citizens, journalists, political commentators and social media users without adequately examining the legal maintainability of complaints or the locus standi of complainants. Citing instances involving DMK Vilathikulam MLA G.V. Markandayan and party functionaries Anbanandam and Vinoth Suriya Kumar, he contended that political pressure and rivalry have contributed to the misuse of police powers, resulting in harassment and arbitrary action. He argued that such practices undermine the constitutional guarantees of equality, personal liberty and freedom of speech and expression under Articles 14, 21 and 19(1)(a), respectively. The PIL seeks a direction to the DGP to consider the petitioner’s representation dated August 20, 2026, and issue a Police Standing Order or circular prescribing safeguards for police stations, cybercrime units and investigating officers dealing with complaints concerning online expression, including scrutiny of the alleged offences and relevant legal provisions before initiating coercive action.
Delhi HC Lifts Blanket Ban on Rana Kapoor Book, Restricts Four Passages
The Delhi High Court has allowed HarperCollins and author Pavan Chand Lall to continue publishing and circulating Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor, while restricting four specific passages concerning former Yes Bank MD Rana Kapoor. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar modified an earlier order that had prohibited circulation of the entire book during the pendency of Kapoor’s defamation suit. The Court upheld the trial court’s prima facie findings that three passages were defamatory and another was derogatory, but held that restricting the entire publication was unwarranted when the objections concerned only four portions. It observed that a blanket ban disproportionately favoured the right to reputation over the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. Accordingly, the injunction was confined to the four disputed passages, with the remaining contents permitted to remain in circulation. The Court clarified that the publisher and author’s defences of justification and fair comment would be examined during trial.
J&K High Court Rules Long Use of Trademark Requires Valid Evidence to Prove Passing Off
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh ruled that claiming protection over an unregistered trademark on the grounds of “prior and continuous use” requires robust documentary evidence rather than mere assertions. In a passing-off dispute, the Court clarified that long-standing commercial presence alone does not establish legal goodwill unless supported by audited sales figures, marketing invoices, and clear proof of continuous market reputation.
Eminem’s Publisher Eight Mile Style Sues Suno AI for $41 Million Over Copyright Theft
Eight Mile Style, the publishing company controlling Eminem’s catalog, filed a major copyright infringement lawsuit against generative AI music platform Suno in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges Suno unlawfully scraped 269 copyrighted compositions to train its generative models and enabled users to bypass name-blocking filters using style prompts like “horrorcore” or “rapid-fire flow” to output near-identical tracks. Seeking up to $41 million in statutory damages and DMCA penalties, the suit challenges the legality of style-based workaround prompts in AI song generators.
EU Court Adviser Warns Google AI Chatbot May Violate EU Copyright Rules
In a non-binding opinion, an Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) warned that Google’s AI chatbot features could be infringing European copyright law by aggregating and paraphrasing press publishers’ content without authorization. The opinion stresses that machine-generated summaries of news articles compete directly with original reporting under Article 15 of the EU Copyright Directive. If adopted by the CJEU, tech giants may be forced to enter mandatory licensing agreements with European news publishers.
Australian Creative Sector Warns Weakening AI Copyright Laws Will Cause Disaster
Australia’s creative industries issued a joint warning to policymakers against introducing broad fair-use exceptions or weakening copyright protections for AI developers. Industry bodies representing authors, musicians, and visual artists argued that sanctioning uncompensated text and data mining would devastate local cultural production, calling for mandatory transparency, consent, and licensing frameworks for all AI training datasets.
Mondelez Triggers Trademark Dispute with UK Vegan Snack Brands
Confectionery giant Mondelez International initiated trademark enforcement actions against independent UK-based vegan food brands over the use of festive product names resembling its “Snowballs” and “Cadbury” product lines. Mondelez claims the small brands’ branding creates consumer confusion and dilutes its established trademarks, while affected independent creators argue the term “snowball” is descriptive and generic for holiday treats.
Songwriters Drop Copyright Lawsuit Against HYBE Over BTS Track ‘Swim’
Less than four months after initiating legal proceedings, songwriters dropped their high-profile copyright infringement lawsuit against K-pop giant HYBE concerning melodic similarities in the track ‘Swim’. The voluntary dismissal suggests an out-of-court settlement was reached between the parties, resolving claims surrounding digital sampling and songwriting credit allocations without prolonged judicial scrutiny.
Former Lawyers of Nicki Minaj Return to Court Over Alleged Unpaid Legal Fees
Attorneys formerly representing rap icon Nicki Minaj filed court motions in a ongoing dispute regarding unpaid legal fees stemming from past copyright and licensing litigation. The firm alleges substantial outstanding bills for specialized IP representation, highlighting mounting post-litigation billing disputes between top-tier celebrity talent and external counsel.
