India, June 3 -- The court said the unauthorised sale of merchandise using his Dhawan name, image, likeness and other elements of his persona to make commercial gain is unlawful

The Delhi High Court has protected the personality rights of actor Varun Dhawan and restrained the unauthorised use of his name, image and other attributes by third parties for commercial or personal gain, and the creation of AI-generated deepfake images and derogatory content.

Justice Jyoti Singh, in an interim order passed on the film star's lawsuit, said Dhawan is a "celebrated actor" and has the "right to protect his name, likeness, voice and image" from unauthorised use by third parties.

The court ordered the defendants and online platforms to take down th...