Rihanna has won a landmark legal case against high street giant
Topshop, after they used her image on a T-shirt without seeking her
permission.
Riri initially sued Arcadia (Topshop’s parent company) for $5m
(£3.3m) in 2013, after they began selling the vest featuring an image of
her from a video shoot in 2011.
Topshop however appealed against the decision by Mr Justice Birss,
who ruled that some buyers would be deceived that the top was official
merchandise and amounted to ‘passing off’.
The T-Shirt in question
Topshop lawyers argued that item was simply a ‘decorated T-shirt’ and
that Rihanna was using the law wrongly to claim ‘only a celebrity may
ever market his or her own character’.
The judges at the Court of appeal felt differently though, and decided to uphold the decision and dismiss Topshop’s appeal.
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