In a major ruling, the Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to Telugu actor and producer Vishnu Manchu to protect his personality rights from illegal exploitation. The order is part of a long-running legal battle in which Vishnu Manchu had sought a permanent injunction to prevent defamation, copyright infringement and commercial and personal use of his image.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, presiding over the bench, accepted the merits of Vishnu Manchu’s appeal and observed, “The plaintiff has made a prima facie case for granting a permanent injunction and if an interim injunction is not granted, the plaintiff would suffer irreparable harm.”
As president of the Movie Artists Association (MAA), Vishnu Manchu started fighting against YouTube channels that spread derogatory content about film stars. So far, 75 YouTube links and channels have been removed due to Vishnu’s warning and YouTube strikes. There has been a counter-strike by YouTubers and content creators who claim that their freedom of speech is being killed.
The Kannappa actor is currently in talks with other notable actors for similar legal protections to put an end to trolling and defamatory content on social media sites. This initiative aims to ensure that celebrities are no longer forced to endure vicious trolling and hurtful statements online that violate their privacy, damage their reputation and infringe on their personal rights.
The Ministry of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have been asked to block links and URLs containing derogatory content. Further, the respondents have been asked to remove all illegal content within 48 hours, with YouTube being directed to ban or block all remaining content if they fail to do so.
Similar complaints are expected from other personalities in the Telugu film industry. Meanwhile, Vishnu Manchu starrer Kannappa is set to hit the theatres in December.
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