Lawyers aren’t the only ones who live their lives by a rule-based system. If you live in a major metropolitian area or went through a breakup within the last decade, you’ve probably heard her hit song “New Rules.” And while the song has great rules for engagement (or un-engagement, rather), it is far from exhaustive. An important Dua Lipa rule that didn’t make the vinyl was “Don’t use my likeness to promote products without my express permission.” Admittedly clunky for the chorus, it’s a vital rule that Samsung’s not counting on could cost them millions of dollars. Reuters has coverage:
British pop star Dua Lipa has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics seeking at least $15 million in damages, accusing the South Korean tech giant of using her image without permission to market its television sets.
The lawsuit alleges that Samsung featured a copyrighted image of the pop star on the front of cardboard boxes containing televisions for retail sale, enabling the company to benefit from what seemed like her endorsement of the product.
Dua Lipa stans falling for her apparent endorsement weren’t hard to find:
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This is why marketing should always run things by legal before they send them out. Celebrities make a living off of their likeness; if mom and pop Etsy sellers can’t peddle products with a celebrity’s likeness on them, why in the hell would a trillion-dollar company think they could get away with it without shilling out some coin? There are plenty of celebrities that would take a check to be the face on a TV with a going rate south of $15M.
New rule: Don’t plaster a celebrity’s face on your product without getting their permission first. Even better rule: Pay me to advertise your TVs. I clean up nice.
Dua Lipa Sues Samsung For $15 Million For Allegedly Using Her Image To Sell TVs [Reuters]
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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boat builder who is learning to swim and is interested in rhetoric, Spinozists and humor. Getting back in to cycling wouldn’t hurt either. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by Tweet/Bluesky at @WritesForRent.