Now Reading: Delhi HC questions if Bachchan name reputation extends across generations
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Delhi HC questions if Bachchan name reputation extends across generations
Delhi HC questions if Bachchan name reputation extends across generations
The Delhi High Court on Thursday raised key legal questions in a case filed by Aaradhya Bachchan, daughter of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, seeking to stop the spread of fake…
The Story in Brief
The Delhi High Court on Thursday raised key legal questions in a case filed by Aaradhya Bachchan, daughter of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, seeking to stop the spread of fake online information about her health. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani asked whether the reputation attached to a famous family name can be treated like a trademark and, if so, how far that reputation can travel across generations.
The court also questioned whether fake news, even of an "egregiously despicable nature," can amount to an intellectual property violation, and whether defamation can fit within IP rights. Aaradhya's lawyer argued the case extends beyond her individual reputation to the entire Bachchan family's name. The court had granted interim protection in April 2023, calling the misinformation "completely intolerable." The next hearing is on September 15.
The Indian Opinion
This case tests a simple question: whose reputation is being stolen when a YouTuber falsely claims a child has died? The Bachchans have every right to defend their daughter. But calling fake news an intellectual property violation stretches trademark logic. Reputation earned by one generation should not automatically become a legal shield for the next. The court's real test will be whether it can stop the rot without creating a new right that lets every famous family silence criticism by wrapping it in IP law.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
