Manu Bhaker Congratulatory Ads: Brands Pull Down Posts After Legal Notice Threat From Paris Olympics Medalist

The Indian olympic contingent got off to kicking start with shooter Manu Bhaker's bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics 2024. The shooter went on to add to the glory by winning a second bronze in another mixed-doubles shooting event.

Now, amidst the glory and shimmer of the medal, another development emerged in the matter. As many entities, including brands, jumped on the bandwagon of congratulating the country's first medal at the Olympics, some of them did it without offering any support to the athlete.

And this led to the 22-year-old Olympian's manager considering sending a legal notice to these brands. According to reports, these brands are using Bhaker's image without giving any sponsorship to the shooter.

According to a statement obtained by the Economic Times, Neerav Tomar, MD of IOS Sports & Entertainment said, “Since yesterday, almost two dozen brands which are not associated with Manu, have released congratulatory ads on social media with her images and their brands,"

He further added, "This is not allowed legally and we are serving legal notices to these brands. This is moment marketing free of cost.”

According to the same report, some of the brands who did this include, Bajaj Foods, Life Insurance Corporation, FIITJEE, Praneet Group, Oakwood International School, Apricot Bioscience, Radha TMT, Kineto and Parul Ayurved Hospital.

Amongst the aforementioned brands, the likes of Bajaj Foods, LIC and FIITJEE have taken the congratulatory posts from the social media profile.

In addition, some of the others, including Oakwood International School, and Apricot Bioscience continue to retain the ads.

In pursuance to available information, India has laws that oversee such violations of intellectual property and image rights. The image rights of an entity are protected under the Copyright Act of 1957.

Manu Bhaker and India's first medal at this edition of the Olympics came in the Women's 10m air pistol (individual) event and her second medal came in the 10m Air Pistol mixed double event, along with