The plaintiff, owner of the Tanishq brand, had engaged the Bachchans as brand ambassadors under a formal endorsement agreement. The defendant reproduced and altered the resulting advertisement on its own hoardings.
Whether reproducing a celebrity endorsement advertisement, without consent, infringes both the brand's copyright and the celebrities' personality rights.
The Court granted a permanent injunction, holding that the defendant's use created a false and misleading impression of endorsement that the celebrities had never consented to.
A celebrity retains the right to control the commercial use of their persona independent of any contract between a brand and a third party; passing off and personality-rights doctrines can operate together.
A frequently cited precedent for brand-endorsement disputes and unauthorised commercial use of a public figure's identity.
