Delhi High Court protects Dr. Devi Shetty's personality rights, Narayana Hrudayalaya trademarks

The Delhi High Court has issued a significant ruling to protect the personality rights of eminent cardiologist Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty and the trademark integrity of his hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya, as per reports.

The decision came in response to a plea against individuals and entities accused of misusing Dr. Shetty's name and image for unauthorized commercial purposes, including promoting unverified health products.

Presiding over the case, Justice Mini Pushkarna observed, "The plaintiffs have demonstrated a prima facie case for grant of injunction and, in case, no ex parte ad interim injunction is granted, the plaintiffs will suffer an irreparable loss. Further, balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiffs, and against the defendants."

The case highlighted the actions of certain operators of Facebook pages and online platforms accused of sharing doctored videos of Dr. Shetty, falsely attributing unverified health advice and product endorsements to him.

The Court has now restrained the defendants from exploiting Dr. Shetty’s name, image, likeness, or other personal attributes without his explicit consent. This includes prohibiting the use of emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and deepfake tools, to replicate or manipulate his persona.

Additionally, the defendants were barred from infringing upon the registered trademarks of Narayana Health.

Social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, were directed to remove the infringing content and disclose details of the individuals behind the content. Google LLC has also been ordered to take down related material.

Telecom and internet service providers, alongside government authorities, have been instructed to block any websites violating these rights.

Dr. Shetty and Narayana Health were represented by Advocates Saikrishna Rajagopal, Shilpa Gupta, Deepika Pokharia, and Naman Tandon.

Advocates Abhishek Kumar, Ekta Sharma, Pragya Jain, and Surabhi Katare represented some of the defendants.