5 Cricketers Including Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel Move Delhi High Court To Curb Use Of Their Names for NFTs: Report

Five Indian cricketers, along with, the digital collectables platform for cricket Rario, have reportedly moved Delhi High Court to prevent online fantasy sports platforms from minting and issuing Non-fungible Tokens (NFT) using their names and photos on it. A report published by the Bar and Bench claimed that Rario and five Indian players- Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi- filed their appeals before the Division Bench against a single judge’s order.

The single judge had issued an order which held that the online fantasy sports platforms can use names and pictures of prominent figures. The Delhi High Court, in its April 26 order, held that such an act is permissible under facets of the right of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).

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Former Solicitor General of India and senior Advocate Harish Salve represented Rario before a division bench of Justices Manmohan and Saurabh Banerjee on Thursday. Mukul Rohatgi, on the other hand, appeared for some of the players. Salve, in his submission, claimed that Rario had recognised players’ rights, made payment and obtained rights to use that concerned personality.

“By creating tradable cards, you (other OFS) have crossed a line. Because a tradable card is not based on a player’s performance, it is based on their persona. You can take the example of Sunil Gavaskar. If somebody today says that this is a Gavaskar signed bat and through digital means they take his signature, you are violating his privacy and it may also amount to passing off,” Bar and Bench quoted Salve as saying.

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Meanwhile, Mukul Rohatgi furnished an example of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh’s performance in the 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rohatgi in his argument cited Rinku’s incredible match-winning knock in an IPL 2023 match against Gujarat Titans. Rinku had walloped five sixes in the final over of that contest to earn a victory for his side.

“There is a cricketer named Rinku Singh. He has become famous for hitting five sixes to win the match. Now, he is entitled to earn the money. He is entitled to use his persona,” Rohatgi reportedly said.

After the conclusion of the arguments, the bench directed both sides to file their written submissions within a period of seven days. The bench also listed the case for next hearing on May 23.