Rihanna Wins Lawsuit Against Topshop in U.K.

Rihanna must be all smiles as she recently won a lawsuit in the U.K. against fashion retailer Topshop.  Rihanna sued Topshop in May over Topshop's use of her image on a tank top which was taken from her "We Found Love" music video.    However, U.K. law doesn't recognize image rights.  In fact, if you legally purchase an image, you can use in any way you want to without royalty payments, unlike in the U.S.  So what makes this case so different?

Rihanna's lawyer argued that by using Rihanna's image, Topshop misled customers into the false belief that Rihanna endorsed the use of her image on the tank top.  This would be confusing to the consumer and damaging Rihanna's reputation and goodwill.

The judge agreed and found that many Topshop customers and Rihanna fans would be under the belief that the top was authorized by the singer, which was clearly not the case.  The sale of the shirt also damaged her goodwill and reputation since Rihanna never endorsed it.

Although I accept that a good number of purchasers will buy the T-shirt without giving the question of authorization any thought at all, in my judgment a substantial portion of those considering the product will be induced to think it is a garment authorized by the artist. 

The persons who do this will be the Rihanna fans. They will recognize or think they recognize the particular image of Rihanna, not simply as a picture of the artist, but as a particular picture of her associated with a particular context, the recent ‘Talk That  Talk’ album. 

For those persons, the idea that it is authorized will be part of what motivates them to buy the product. I am quite satisfied that many fans of Rihanna regard her endorsement as important. She is their style icon. Many will buy a product because they think she has approved of it. 

Others will wish to buy it because of the value of the perceived authorization itself. In both cases they will have been deceived. This would clearly be damaging to Rihanna’s goodwill.

Topshop said it was “surprised and disappointed by the judgment handed down today,” and may look to appeal the decision.

Read more
WWD: British Judge Rules for Rihanna vs. Topshop
The Guardian: How Rihanna stopped Topshop selling a T-shirt with her face on