It's a relief for Mersal actress Kajal Aggarwal, as the Madras High Court on Tuesday restrained a hair oil company from using the actress' endorsements of its products for publicity.
Back in 2008, Kajal Aggarwal featured in a promotional video of VVD & Sons, a major coconut oil producers based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The actress had approached the court, claiming that the company had no right to use the promotional materials continuously without her consent.
In her complaint, the actress stated that it was a matter of convention and custom prevailing in the marketing field that any advertisement/endorsement allowed to be used only for a year unless it is meantioned otherwise mentioned in clear terms. Renewal is done for the subsequent use of the material.
The actress had accused the hair oil company of using the ad film featuring her her even in 2011, even after a lapse of three years. Kajal claimed that she had suffered loss since other competitors were hesitant to engage her for their advertisements. She sought Rs 2.5 crore from the company for alleged copyright violation.
Earlier, a single bench of the court had rejected her petition. On July 3, Justice T Ravindran dismissed her suit, observing that an absolute copyright owner of a commercial film has every right to exploit the material for 60 years as enshrined under the Copyright Act. Following this, Kajal Aggarwal approached Madras High Court challenging the single bench order.
Three months after, an HC bench comprising Justices Rajiv Shakdher and N Sathish Kumar has granted interim relief to Kajal Aggarwal. The bench felt that the company failed to be represented by any advocate even after receiving notice. It passed the order restraining a hair oil company from publicising endorsements of its products by actor Kajal Aggarwal either in television channels or any other form of media.
