Legal notices sent to brands who latched on Manu Bhaker win without sponsoring her
Brands including the likes of LIC and Bajaj Foods have been sent legal notices for infringing Bhaker's personality rights as they latched on moment marketing free of cost.
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Legal notices for infringing the athlete's personality rights are expected to be sent to brands who used photos or videos of the Indian Olympic medal winner- Manu Bhaker, in congratulatory marketing and advertisements without sponsoring her, according to an ET report
Brands including Bajaj Foods, KapeeFit, LIC, FIITJEE, BSC Interiors, Oakwood International School, and Kineto, among others, were the ones who came forward on social media to congratulate her on her win- but never in the past have sponsored her or are associated with her in any manner.
The 22-year-old shooter, Bhaker won a bronze medal on June 28 at the Paris Olympics.
In the past, the self-regulatory body Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has called out such brands. During Tokyo Olympics 2020, it emphasised how brands piggybacking on athletes' wins without permission violate its code.
According to the ASCI code, "Advertisements shall not, without permission from the person, firm or institution under reference, contain any reference to such person, which confers and unjustified advantage on the product advertised or tends to bring the person, firm or institute into ridicule or disrepute. If and when required to do so by ASCI, the advertiser and the advertising agency shall produce explicit permission from the person, firm or institution to which reference is made in the advertisement."
In 2021, PV Sindhu and her agency Baseline Ventures took 20 brands to court for using her image and name for moment marketing, without her consent or proper permissions. The agency sought damages worth Rs 5 crore. The brand list included Perfetti Van Melle, Pan Bahar, Eureka Forbes, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Vodafone Idea, MG Motor, UCO Bank, Punjab National Bank, and State Bank of India, among others.
It is to be noted that in markets like the US and Europe, celebrities in large numbers have pursued litigation in such cases.
