Aishani Partners
Personality Rights and Digital Misuse: Key Takeaways from Delhi HC’s Raj Shamani Order
December 24, 2025
Introduction
With the recent Raj Shamani order, the spectrum of personality rights has seen a new light, moving beyond its conventional association with the film and music personalities and extending into the realm of digital media.
IP theft in the Indian creator economy is, unfortunately, very common. The more a creator or their content gains visibility, the more frequently we see unauthorised use – from copying content and branding to using names, images and work in memes, hashtags, promotional posts and digital applications.
The Shamani judgment is one of the firsts that acknowledges violation of the personality rights of a famous digital content creator. It is certainly a significant milestone in the developing arena of personality rights jurisprudence in India.
Facts of Raj Shamani case before Delhi High Court
Mr. Raj Shamani, a podcaster, entrepreneur and a known face in the field of content creation and India’s booming creator economy (the “Plaintiff”), recently knocked on the doors of the Delhi High Court to seek protection of his personality rights by seeking injunction in a suit for misappropriation of personality (publicity) rights, alongside trademark and copyright infringement, passing off, and other ancillary claims[1], against the unauthorized use of his name, likeness and identity across digital platforms.
The Plaintiff sought injunction against the defendants, being unnamed third parties (John Doe’s, or in India, Ashok Kumar’s) (the “Defendants”) who were misusing his name and personality attributes in their digital content to generate unauthorized revenue and gain undue commercial benefits. Additionally, the Plaintiff sought injunction against such third parties employing artificial intelligence (AI) to create fabricated, morphed and deepfake videos, misusing his personality attributes to generate misleading videos/reels containing false information. The present case also highlighted upon the unauthorized use and infringement of the trademarks over which the Plaintiff had statutory rights.
High Court’s Findings:
The Hon’ble Delhi High Court acknowledged that the Plaintiff is indeed a notable personality in the field of digital media and opined that personality traits including his name, likeness, voice, image are protectable elements of his personality rights. Further, the Court recognized that personality rights are not limited to celebrities working in the film industry, but also content creators such as the Plaintiff himself, who derive commercial value from their digital personality.
It is pertinent to highlight that the Court ring-fenced humour, satire, parody and hashtags to safeguard free expression while still addressing commercial misuse of personality. Humour, satire and parody are generally treated more leniently under copyright and free speech principles, as they promote criticism, comment and public discourse. Hashtags, though not expressly recognised as “fair dealing” in the Copyright Act, often function as tools of commentary, discovery and amplification rather than pure commercial exploitation.
Concluding views:
On creators’ personality rights
The Raj Sharmani case is pivotal in the evolution of personality rights in India, thereby expanding the spectrum to include content creators who are often the victims to their personality attributes being misused by third parties for unauthorized commercial gains.
Further, the case gives out a clear warning to third parties that creator’s identities are not public properties available for exploitation to gain undue commercial benefit, and doing such unfair activities will definitely have repercussions.
At the same time, the judgement educates content creators in understanding the commercial and legal value of their name and provides them with the legal armour to protect the same.
On maintaining a balance with fair dealing principles
By conceptually separating humour, satire, parody and hashtags from the core infringement issues, the Court signalled that creators’ personality and IP rights cannot be enforced in a way that chills legitimate humour, satire or online conversation.
This approach helps maintain a nuanced balance between protecting commercial rights and preserving space for creativity and free expression in the digital ecosystem.
On calling out AI-generated deepfake videos
With the digital world being wrecked with the recent surge of AI generated deepfake videos, this case sits squarely within the concerns that current AI and deepfake policy debates are trying to address.
The Hon’ble High Court acknowledged that such manipulated videos can seriously injure the reputation and name of celebrities and can also mislead the public. In view of the same, the Hon’ble Court delivered relief to the Plaintiff by directing the Defendants to block/take down AI driven deepfakes, bots or any distorted content that impersonates the Plaintiff and causes harm to his reputation and goodwill.
As lawmakers work on a sharper framework for AI-generated content and the copyright law is being reviewed to meet the challenges posed by generative AI[2], this matter offers a concrete fact pattern: it highlights the need for clear standards, accountability for manipulated content, and effective remedies for creators whose persona is misused. In that sense, it is likely to serve as a useful reference point when shaping future guidelines and enforcement mechanisms.
[1] India has no standalone statute on personality rights. Enforcement in this space largely relies on common law principles, along with copyright, trademark and passing-off doctrines, which together shape the remedies available to creators today.
[2] https://www.barandbench.com/news/law-policy/copyright-act-being-reviewed-to-address-challenges-posed-by-generative-ai-centre-in-lok-sabha
Contributed by Aditi Verma Thakur & Doyita Mukherjee