Fan clubs can use celebrity public photos unless causing legal harm, Delhi HC told
The Delhi High Court heard arguments on October 8 that fan pages should be allowed to use publicly available celebrity photos, provided they do not defame, breach privacy, or falsely suggest endorsement.
Fan clubs should be permitted to use publicly available photographs of celebrities unless such use causes legal harm, such as defamation, privacy breaches, or false endorsement claims, Gautam Bhatia, the amicus curiae, told the Delhi High Court on October 8.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, presiding over personality rights suits including one filed by actor Janhvi Kapoor, questioned the practicality of this proposed test. "How do you open a fan club without using the likeness of the celebrity who you are a fan of?" the judge asked, highlighting the potential difficulty in distinguishing permissible use from infringement.
Bhatia illustrated potential legal violations with an example of a fan page for footballer Bukayo Saka. Such a page would cross a legal line if it published Saka's private contact details (privacy breach), falsely claimed he used banned substances (defamation), implied his endorsement of the page (false endorsement), placed a beer brand next to his photo (passing off), or used broadcast-owned goal clips (copyright infringement).
The court is examining these cases alongside suits from actor Vivek Oberoi and Aaradhya Bachchan to clarify the scope of personality rights in India. Bhatia argued that if none of these specific legal wrongs occur, a fan page using public photos in a non-defamatory, non-privacy-infringing manner should be permissible. The proceedings are ongoing, with further arguments expected from the amici.