Delhi High Court Protects Personality Rights Of MAA President Vishnu Manchu
Delhi High Court Protects Personality Rights Of MAA President Vishnu Manchu
The Delhi High Court has issued an injunction restraining multiple entities from the unauthorized use of Telugu actor Vishnu Manchu's name, likeness, voice, image, and any other aspect of his personality for commercial purposes. The court passed the order after hearing a case filed by the actor to protect his personality rights and against defamatory content circulating about him.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, who was hearing the matter, prohibited the creation, publication, and dissemination of content related to Vishnu Manchu without his consent. Additionally, the court directed YouTube channels hosting the unauthorized content to take them down within 48 hours. If the channels fail to comply, Google-owned YouTube has been ordered to remove the content. Vishnu Manchu has been granted the liberty to approach YouTube for the suspension of links that violate his personality rights or defame him.
The case was filed by Vishnu Manchu, who is also the President of The Movie Artists Association (MAA), an organization that represents over 900 principal and background performers in Telugu cinema. The actor, a popular figure in the film industry and philanthropist, has been at the forefront of social causes, including environmental awareness and supporting young artists.
Mr. Anand commenced the argument, saying, “There is no limit to the harm that can be done at the hands of evil.” He stated that Vishnu Manchu is a popular Telugu actor and the son of veteran actor Mohan Babu. Manchu is currently the president of The Movie Artists Association (MAA), an organization that represents over 900 principal and background performers working in Telugu cinema.
He is involved in an educational trust that runs at least 75 branches of Springboard. He is also a popular figure promoting environmental awareness and the cause of young artists.
“This is a gentleman who is doing a lot of service. He has 1.5 million followers on Facebook and over 8 million on Instagram, among others.” He contended that his name and his personality rights are misused on porn sites, suggesting that he acted in porn films.
According to the senior lawyer, those infringing his personality rights are making a lot of money on his images, voice, and likeness. Elaborating on defamatory content on Manchu, he noted that those who do it are comparing him to animals and are alleging that he rigged the MAA elections by tampering with the ballot box. He said, is more on the question of honor. “This disrepute on him has a direct impact on his educational trust and other social ventures. This is more on the question of honor.
The court observed that failing to pass immediate interim orders would result in irreparable harm to the actor, leading to the swift issuance of the injunction.
The legal team representing Vishnu Manchu from Anand and Anand and Anand and Naik included Managing Partner Pravin Anand, Founder & Managing Partner, Ameet Naik, Head of Digital Tech & Law, Ajai Garg, Partners Dhruv Anand and Udita Michelle Patro, along with Associates Dhananjay Khanna and Alvin Antony.
