The rise of OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, JioHotstar, Sony LIV, Zee5, Apple TV+, and others has fundamentally changed the way audiences consume entertainment. Unlike traditional television broadcasts or theatrical releases, digital streaming platforms preserve and distribute performances indefinitely, making films and web series accessible to millions across the globe for years after their initial release. This technological advancement raises an important legal question that has become increasingly relevant in the entertainment industry:
Can actors stop OTT platforms from using their performances forever?
The answer is neither a simple yes nor a straightforward no. Instead, it lies at the intersection of copyright law, performers’ rights, contract law, personality rights, moral rights, and the licensing agreements entered into between actors, producers, broadcasters, and streaming platforms. In India, this issue is governed primarily by the Copyright Act, 1957, the Indian Contract Act, 1872, judicial precedents, and evolving jurisprudence concerning personality rights and digital exploitation of performances. Understanding these legal principles is essential not only for actors but also for producers, OTT platforms, talent managers, entertainment lawyers, and law students interested in media and intellectual property law. Before answering whether an actor can prevent an OTT platform from using a performance forever, one must first understand who legally owns a performance after it has been recorded. Contrary to popular belief, an actor does not automatically own the copyright in a completed film or web series.
Under the Copyright Act, the producer is generally regarded as the first owner of copyright in a cinematograph film, subject to contractual arrangements. Therefore, although the actor contributes creativity, emotion, dialogue delivery, expressions, and body language to the work, the copyright in the finished audiovisual work usually belongs to the producer. However, this does not mean actors are left without legal protection. Indian copyright law recognizes Performers’ Rights, a distinct category of intellectual property introduced to protect artists whose performances are recorded or broadcast. Section 2(qq) of the Copyright Act defines a performer broadly to include actors, singers, musicians, dancers, acrobats, magicians, lecturers, and other persons who make performances. Sections 38, 38A, and 38B of the Copyright Act provide performers with statutory rights over their performances.
These provisions became significantly stronger following the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, which aimed to enhance the protection available to performers in line with international treaties such as the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). Section 38 grants performers an exclusive right over their performances for a specified duration. Section 38A recognizes the performer’s exclusive right to make sound recordings or visual recordings of performances, reproduce recordings, issue copies, communicate performances to the public, sell or commercially rent copies, and make the performance available to the public electronically. Importantly, these rights are subject to contractual assignments and consents provided by the performer. This means that when actors sign acting agreements with producers, they often assign or license many of these rights in exchange for remuneration.
Consequently, once such rights are legally assigned, producers acquire the authority to exploit the recorded performance through theatres, television broadcasts, airlines, educational licensing, home video, satellite television, and increasingly, OTT streaming services. This is where contracts become the deciding factor. Modern acting agreements frequently include comprehensive clauses granting producers worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable rights across all existing and future technologies, including streaming platforms that may not even exist at the time of signing. Such clauses often use phrases like “throughout the universe,” “in perpetuity,” “in all media now known or hereafter devised,” demonstrating the industry’s attempt to future-proof exploitation rights.
Therefore, if an actor has knowingly entered into such a contract, stopping an OTT platform from continuing to stream the performance becomes extremely difficult. The producer has lawfully acquired the right to license the content to streaming services, while the OTT platform merely exercises rights granted under its licensing agreement with the producer. Nevertheless, this does not mean actors have absolutely no remedies. Certain circumstances may allow an actor to challenge continued exploitation. One such situation arises if the contract itself is invalid due to fraud, coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation, or lack of informed consent under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
If an actor can establish that the assignment agreement was obtained through unlawful means, the validity of the rights granted may itself become questionable. Another possibility concerns the scope of contractual rights. Older contracts executed before the OTT revolution may have granted rights only for theatrical exhibition, television broadcasts, or home video distribution without expressly mentioning digital streaming. Courts may then be required to interpret whether OTT exploitation falls within existing contractual language or constitutes a fresh mode of exploitation requiring additional authorization or compensation. Similar disputes have emerged internationally as technology evolves faster than contractual drafting. Another important protection available to performers arises under Section 38B of the Copyright Act, which recognizes performers’ moral rights.
These rights include the right to claim authorship of the performance and the right to restrain or claim damages against any distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the performance that would prejudice the performer’s reputation. Therefore, while an actor may not be able to prevent streaming altogether, they may object if the platform alters the performance in a manner that harms their professional reputation. For instance, unauthorized editing, deepfake manipulation, AI-generated modifications, misleading contextual presentation, or distorted promotional materials could potentially trigger legal action based on performers’ moral rights. The emergence of artificial intelligence has made this issue even more significant. Suppose an OTT platform digitally recreates an actor’s expressions, modifies dialogues using AI, or generates new scenes without the actor’s consent.
Such activities may not merely raise copyright issues but also involve personality rights, privacy rights, passing off, and data protection concerns. Indian courts have increasingly recognized personality rights of celebrities, protecting their names, voices, images, likenesses, and identities from unauthorized commercial exploitation. While Indian legislation does not yet comprehensively codify personality rights, judicial precedents involving celebrities have established that commercial use of a person’s identity without authorization may amount to infringement of personality rights or passing off. Consequently, if an OTT platform uses AI to create entirely new performances using an actor’s digital likeness without contractual permission, legal challenges become much stronger.
Similarly, actors retain remedies where their performances are used deceptively in advertisements suggesting endorsements they never agreed to provide. Another evolving area concerns residual payments and royalty structures. In Hollywood, actors represented by unions such as SAG-AFTRA often receive residuals based on repeated exploitation of their performances. India, however, does not generally follow such an extensive residual payment model. Most actors receive lump-sum remuneration unless their contracts specifically provide profit-sharing, royalties, streaming bonuses, or backend participation. As OTT platforms continue generating revenue for years from successful films and web series, many industry experts argue that performers should receive continuing compensation rather than one-time fees.
Future legislative reforms may eventually address this imbalance. Internationally, several jurisdictions have begun revisiting performers’ rights in the streaming era. European copyright directives, collective bargaining agreements in the United States, and international treaties increasingly recognize the economic interests of performers in digital exploitation. India may similarly witness reforms as streaming becomes the dominant mode of content distribution. Another important consideration is the duration of performers’ rights. Under Indian copyright law, performers’ rights generally subsist for fifty years from the year following the performance. However, contractual assignments executed for perpetual exploitation may continue enabling producers and licensees to commercially exploit recorded works throughout copyright protection.
Therefore, the expiry of performers’ rights does not necessarily terminate copyright in the cinematograph film itself, which follows separate statutory timelines. Legal disputes may also arise where producers exceed the rights granted by performers. For example, if an actor licenses a performance only for a specific project but the producer later extracts clips for unrelated commercial purposes, NFTs, AI training datasets, merchandising, virtual avatars, or immersive metaverse experiences without authorization, questions regarding the scope of assignment become increasingly relevant. The entertainment industry is rapidly entering an era where contracts must specifically address digital twins, virtual production, synthetic media, and AI-generated performances.
Actors entering new agreements should carefully negotiate clauses dealing with streaming rights, territorial rights, language versions, dubbing, remakes, sequels, prequels, spin-offs, merchandising, video games, virtual reality adaptations, AI-generated reproductions, promotional uses, and duration of exploitation. Legal advice before signing entertainment contracts has become more important than ever. Producers likewise benefit from precise contractual drafting because ambiguity often leads to expensive litigation years later when technology changes. From the OTT platform’s perspective, the platform generally relies upon warranties and indemnities provided by producers confirming that all necessary rights have been obtained. If an actor later challenges exploitation, the platform may seek protection from the producer under contractual indemnity provisions.
Consequently, disputes often become multi-party litigation involving actors, producers, distributors, broadcasters, and streaming services. In conclusion, actors generally cannot stop OTT platforms from using their performances forever if they have contractually assigned or licensed the necessary rights to producers, who in turn lawfully license those works to streaming services. However, actors retain important statutory protections under the Copyright Act through performers’ rights and moral rights, and they may challenge unauthorized uses exceeding contractual permissions, distortions harming reputation, AI-generated modifications, or commercial exploitation violating personality rights.
As digital technologies continue reshaping the entertainment industry, contracts will increasingly determine the balance between creative freedom and commercial exploitation. Every actor should therefore understand that the real legal battle is often won or lost not after the film releases but before the cameras even start rolling—when the performance agreement is negotiated and signed. In the age of OTT, artificial intelligence, global streaming, and digital permanence, understanding performers’ rights is no longer optional; it is an essential component of protecting creative careers, preserving artistic integrity, and ensuring that talent receives fair recognition and compensation in an ever-evolving digital entertainment ecosystem.
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