Yes, a lot of celebrities and celebrity organisations have their names registered as trademarks for merchandise. Topshop have appealed the decision as far as they can and have lost at every hurdle She used the same argument and was successful. Recently Rhianna had her image posted all over a t-shirt at Topshop.
The Court said that Mr Irvine would have lost out on a fee. The first such case was Eddie Irvine, who successfully sued Talk Sport for using a picture of him in their adverts. There have been a number of cases over the years where the law has come down on the side of the celebrity. Well, unfortunately the Courts don’t agree.
Unless you have Benedict’s permission, then that is not correct – and if he wants to, he can stop you. I’m sure we have all heard of that?īut I’m not trading off Benedict’s reputation, he’s an actor?Īh, well, you see, what you are doing is implying that you are authorised by Benedict to produce the jewellery – that he has endorsed your product.
It is the reputation in your business that is protected and you can fall foul of the law of ‘passing off’. Goodwill is an English legal concept that basically protects somebody’s reputation. Yes, in the case of Benedict Cumberbatch, for example, he is an actor, but he will also carry out endorsements of products, speaking arrangements, not to mention his normal work, in Benedict’s case, as an actor. These are things that arise in the course of someone’s business.īut celebrities aren’t businesses, are they? It’s all to do with something called ‘goodwill’ and sometimes trademarks. It is nothing to do with the law of privacy. Well, let’s get one thing out of the way. You can’t use an image of a famous person lawfully without the permission of the celebrity concerned. Solicitors, to explain UK copyright law and how copyright applies to celebrity images, and whether using illustrations of famous actors, singers, celebrities or pop stars in your handmade designs is allowed. Hollywood pendant necklace by Christina Made ItĪ lot of designers and makers want to know if it’s ok to use pictures of famous people in their work – for example, can you use your own illustration of the actor Benedict Cumberbatch on a brooch? We asked Niall Head-Rapson, director of copyright specialists McDaniel & Co.
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