In a bid to safeguard his personal rights and image, Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff has taken legal action, approaching the Delhi High Court to restrain various entities from unauthorised use of his name, voice, image, or any other attribute.
Drawing parallels with Anil Kapoor's successful protection of his trademark phrase "jhakaas", Shroff seeks similar legal protection for his distinctive persona. The actor duo also played brothers Ram-Lakhan in a 1989 Bollywood movie of the same name.
This move echoes similar efforts by industry stalwart Amitabh Bachchan against infringement of his personality and publicity rights in 2022.
In his plea presented to the High Court, Shroff has fervently appealed for the safeguarding of his identity, including the names "Jackie Shroff", "Jackie", "Jaggu Dada" and "Bhidu", stressing that any unauthorised utilisation of his attributes across platforms must cease without his explicit consent.
The problem arose in early April when Shroff first became aware of infringing merchandise peddled by entities across online platforms. Subsequently, during the second week of April, the actor stumbled upon unauthorised videos circulating on social media channels, depicting distorted facial expressions and casting him in a negative light.
It's Shroff's case that these infringements violated his right to safeguard his personality from defamation and humiliation. As his team delved deeper into the issue, they uncovered additional instances of third-party misappropriation throughout the third week of April.
Shroff has targeted Google-owned Tenor and another prominent GIF-making company, Giphy, alongside artificial intelligence platforms, making them parties to his suit. Furthermore, he seeks an injunction against AI tools and platforms utilising his attributes to develop, train, and profit from customised AI personalities.
Additionally, he calls upon the Department of Technology and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to take swift action in removing all links and websites infringing upon his personality rights.
Shroff's petition extends beyond mere names, advocating for the safeguarding of his voice, image, likeness, and other defining elements that could potentially lead to public confusion or deception if misused by third parties.
The impending court hearing scheduled for Tuesday is awaited to address these pivotal concerns.
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