PUBLICITY RIGHTS IN INDIA

ByDr. Kalyan C. KankanalaVisiting Faculty,National Law School of India University, Bangalore. www.bananaip.comBlog: www.bananaip.com/sinapse-blog

Publicity Rights

Right to prevent commercial use of one's persona

Persona includes name, signature, voice, etc.

Right inheres only in celebritiesPublic recognition

Publicity Rights

Unauthorized use of persona Commercial gain Exception - Free Speech and

Expression

Daler Mehndi First album, Bolo Tara Ra Ra,

sold 20 million copies making it the best selling non-soundtrack album, in Indian music history.

1998: Tunak Tunak Tun is a rage on the Internet then and declared a cult hit by BBC.

Daler Mehndi in the World of warcraft- adopted Mehndi’s popular Tunak Tunak Tun track & bhangra moves into the Game.

VIDEO 1

Daler Mehndi’s Case

Gift shops selling dolls Daler Mehndi's persona Moved like him Also sang a few lines of his

song

VIDEO 2

Daler Mehndi’s Case

Decision

Publicity Rights Violation False Endorsement Passing Off

Publicity Rights Vs. Free Speech

Proportionality Test Impact on Celebrity Vs.

Legitimate Interests of Public

Drawn from privacy

Hypothetical A Online Computer

Game - BaseBall World Cup -

Between Nations Current National

Players in teams Specific Attributes

of players Can record games

Proportionality test?

Photographer: Hubbard, Tom, 1931

Photographer: Jones, Leslie, 1886-1967 Baseball League - Between Clubs Buy Players and play matches

online Sign endorsements for ads during

matches Proportionality Test?

Hypothetical B

Issues/Solutions

Publicity Rights/Free Speech Interface

No National Law Passing Off

Thank You!

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Email: kalyan@bananaip.com