Rihanna
A Barbadian singer Rihanna has won the lawsuit filed against Arcadia a parent company of UK base TopShop. The lawsuit was filed by the singer upon featuring her image on T-shirts without her approval.
Three judges of appellate court have sustained the previous ruling, that her picture was used without the consent of the singer and is an unregistered trademark. The company Arcadia did seek the permission from the photographer but not from the singer.
The court in the ruling has forbidden the TopShop to sell the clothes featuring Rihanna without the permission of the singer. This decision has set a precedent for future cases like this.
Rihanna-Topshop-Lawsuit
Rihanna filed a lawsuit demanding $5 million in 2013 for featuring her image on T-shirts without her authorization. The image was taken by an independent photographer in 2011 during her video shoot.
It was stated in the lawsuit that she thinks that these clothing’s harmed her “goodwill” and “fashion sphere”.
Lawyers of the opponent party argued that the T-shirts can be sold according to the law of celebrity merchandising and the T-shirts were only “decorated” by the celebrity’s image. They also insist that it was never made like a celebrity was endorsing the product.
Geoffrey Hobbs the TopShop lawyer added in his arguments that it is wrong to assume that only celebrities can promote their character.
According to expert opinion, this ruling may not affect the results of similar cases filed in courts. As the judges panel specifically mentioned in the ruling that there were certain facts in Rihanna’s case that made the case stronger.
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