Ilaiyaraaja moves Madras High Court to protect his personality rights

The Madras High Court on Friday (November 21, 2025) entertained a John Doe suit (a case filed against unknown individuals/entities) filed by acclaimed musician R. Ilaiyaraaja to protect his personality rights. It granted an interim injunction restraining unauthorised use of his name, photograph, and other attributes for commercial gain by television channels, YouTube channels, music companies, social media influencers, and others on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

Justice N. Senthilkumar granted the injunction after hearing the arguments advanced by senior counsel S. Prabakaran for the plaintiff, who claimed his name ‘Ilaiyaraaja’ with varied spellings, as well as his title ‘Isaignani’, meaning musical genius, had virtually become unregistered trademarks and hence, no third party could use them for commercial gain without his express permission.

In his plaint, the musician said, he was regarded as a legend and creative genius across the globe. He had composed around 8,500 songs and said, arguably, he was the only composer in the world to have scored music for more than 1,450 feature films in nine languages. He has written lyrics for 1,500 songs, sung around 1,000 songs, and his background score exceeds 1.5 lakh minutes.

“Over the years, the plaintiff has built a brand of himself and has generated extensive and unparalleled goodwill and recognition… Due to his contribution to the music industry, the plaintiff is one of the most sought-after celebrities and as a celebrity, he has the right to command and control over his name, his image and his likeness and authorise the commercial use of his name, image and likeness,” the plaint read.

Referring to numerous YouTube channels and Instagram accounts, which commercially exploit his personality rights by publishing his songs unauthorisedly, the composer said, the unauthorised use of his persona should be seen not just as a violation of his personal rights but also as an affront to his contributions to Indian culture. Any kind of misuse could dilute the cultural and artistic significance of his legacy, the composer said.

The plaintiff contended his name, voice, unique style of musical performance, his songs and other musical works, his image/photograph, his titles such as Isaignani, music maestro, raaga devan, Raja, Raja Sir, and such other aspects related to his personality were protectable. “The plaintiff’s name Ilaiyaraaja or nickname Isaignani is immediately associated with the plaintiff and no one else,” he said.

Listing out some of the YouTube channels, Facebook pages and groups, and Instagram accounts that were unauthorisedly using his name, image, and songs for commercial gain, he said: “In each instance, the plaintiff Dr. Ilaiyaraaja’s name, image, voice and creative works serve as the primary commercial asset exploited without authorisation, consent or compensation to him and thus warrants this honourable court’s intervention.”