Several identifiable traits of actor Mr Anil Kapoor, which have been popularised through his movies were subject to unauthorised use by the defendants. These include allegedly charging money, falsely endorsing the petitioner as a motivational speaker, selling merchandise, cybersquatting and sharing images morphed through AI tools. The petitioner argued that personality rights were violated through the above acts, which are protected by law. The petitioner also argued actions of the defendants, to mislead customers to buy a product/service, fall under the Draft Dark Pattern Guidelines 2023 intended to protect consumers from deceptive advertising at online platforms. The High Court accepted the contention of the petitioner and provided interim relief by directing MeitY to issue blocking orders against the infringing links provided by petitioners. The Court recognised that the petitioner has various rights that include the right of privacy guaranteed in the Constitution, intellectual property rights and personality rights.
