The Delhi High Court has granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Telugu actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR Jr.), restraining multiple online sellers and e-commerce platforms from unauthorised use of his name, image, likeness, and associated identifiers for commercial gain.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held that the plaintiff had made out a case of infringement of personality and publicity rights, noting that Jr NTR is a well-known public figure whose name and persona have acquired substantial goodwill through decades of professional achievement, brand endorsements, Filmfare awards, and trademark registrations. The Court observed that unauthorised sale of merchandise bearing the plaintiff’s identity was likely to cause confusion, deception, and irreparable harm to his reputation and commercial interests.
The suit was filed alleging large-scale unauthorised manufacture and sale of merchandise such as T-shirts, posters, mugs, and keychains bearing the plaintiff’s name, photographs, and sobriquets, including “NTR”, “Jr. NTR” and “Man of Masses”, across various online marketplaces and independent websites. It was submitted that valid trademark registrations on the actor’s name and variants such as “NTR”, “Jr. NTR” and “Man of Masses”, reinforce his claim against unauthorised commercial use. The plaintiff also raised concerns regarding impersonation and misuse of his persona through digital and AI-generated content.
Granting interim relief, the Court restrained the infringing defendants from using or exploiting the plaintiff’s personality rights in any manner and directed e-commerce platforms and online sellers to take down the infringing listings within 72 hours. The Court further directed Google to re-index the URLs in the event of non-compliance by the sellers.
The Court also took note of the inconsistent stand adopted by certain e-commerce platforms in responding to complaints of infringement and directed them to place on record their internal policies for addressing complaints relating to the misuse of registered trademarks, copyright, and personality rights. The matter has been listed for further proceedings on May 19, 2026.
Appearances
Plaintiff- Mr. J. Sai Deepak, Sr. Adv., Dr. Alka Dahar Adv., Mr. Shiv Verma Adv., Mr. B. Sidhi Pramodh Rayudu Adv., Ms. Purnima Vashishtha Adv., Mr. Varun Sharma Adv., Ms. Khushi Jain Adv. and Ms. Pankhudi Tripathi Adv.
Defendants- Mr. Manas Raghuvanshi, Adv. for D12. Ms. Mishthi Dubey, Adv. for D-15. Ms. Shilpa Gupta and Ms. Surabhi Pande, Adv. for D-16 & 17. Mr. Aditya Gupta & Ms. Vani Kaushik and Mr. Rohith, Advs. for D23. Mr. Varun Pathak, Ms. Amee Rana, Ms. Sana Banyal & Ms. Anannya Gogoi, Advs. for D-24. Mr. Ankit Parhar, Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Ms. Shreya Gupta and Ms. Sanchli Sethi, Advs. for D-25/X Corp. Mr. Ankit Parhar & Ms. Shreya Gupta, Advs. for D-26/Reddit.Inc Mr. Siddhartha Shankar Ray, CGSC with Mr. Atishay Jain, Adv. for D-27 and D-28
