Dua Lipa files $15 mln lawsuit against Samsung over TV packaging
English singer and songwriter Dua Lipa has filed a lawsuit against Samsung, accusing the company of copyright and trademark infringement over the alleged unauthorized use of her image on television packaging, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The complaint was filed Friday in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. According to the filing, the Grammy-winning artist did not authorize Samsung to use her likeness for promotional purposes and is seeking at least $15 million in damages.
The lawsuit states that the action was filed “for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and violation of her right of publicity in order to obtain redress for the massive, continuing, unauthorized commercial exploitation of her valuable image and likeness by Samsung on cardboard television boxes.”
The filing further alleges that Samsung “used a copyrighted image of Ms. Lipa without authority or license and prominently featured it on the front of cardboard boxes containing Samsung-manufactured televisions for retail sale.” The document also references social media posts from consumers claiming the singer’s image influenced their purchasing decisions.
Dua Lipa claims the company continued using the image despite repeated cease-and-desist demands and argues the company sought to benefit from a “false association” between the singer and its products. The complaint also argues that the alleged infringement damaged the commercial value of Lipa’s brand and endorsement opportunities.
“Samsung’s arrogance in refusing to stop its infringement confirms its conscious disregard of Ms. Lipa’s intellectual property and personal identity rights, intent on monetizing its products for its own benefit by capitalizing on the implied (false) association with Ms. Lipa as a sponsor of Samsung’s mass-marketed television sets in the boxes on which she is prominently featured,” the lawsuit states. “Samsung’s willful and deliberate misconduct has caused, and continues to cause, substantial, manifest, and irreparable harm to Ms. Lipa, while enriching Samsung at her expense. By this lawsuit, Ms. Lipa seeks to bring Samsung’s conduct to a stop and to obtain damages for Samsung’s theft of her intellectual and personal identity assets.”
As Qazinform News Agency reported earlier, the market capitalization of Samsung Electronics has surpassed $1.2 trillion, making the South Korean corporation the world’s 11th most valuable company.
