20 May 2024 Business Laws >> Business & Commercial Law  

In a case filed before the Indian courts, Dr. Vivek Bindra, founder of Dr. Lal PathLabs Ltd., is suing several defendants for allegedly misusing his name, likeness, and image to promote their business venture called "Bada Business."

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants, which include a company, its directors, an university (GLA University, Mathura) and its CEO, channel partners, and business associates, are using Dr. Bindra's name and image to advertise a business course without his permission.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants claim Dr. Bindra is a "Bada Business Professor" who will teach a course, and they use his case study as an example. Dr. Bindra contends that he only participated in a single webinar for GLA University and has no other affiliation with the defendants' business.

Dr. Bindra is seeking a multi-pronged legal remedy:

• A court declaration stating he has no connection with the defendants' business.
• A permanent injunction to prevent the defendants from using his name, likeness, and image for promotion.
• An order requiring the defendants to remove any promotional material using his name.
• An apology from the defendants for misusing his name.

The court has admitted the lawsuit and ordered the defendants to file a written statement in response within 30 days. The case will be heard for further proceedings on August 29th, 2024.

In a separate application filed along with the lawsuit, Dr. Bindra sought an ex-parte order (an order issued without hearing the defendants' side) to restrain the defendants from using his name and image.

The court issued a notice to the defendants to respond to this application within 30 days. In the meantime, the court has directed the defendants to cease using Dr. Bindra's name and remove any promotional material using his image within one week. Dr. Bindra is required to comply with certain legal requirements within 3 days.

The next hearing for this application is scheduled for August 2nd, 2024.