Today
"Celebrity endorsement" and "Celebrity recommendation"
are one of the magic weapons for merchants to increase sales
However, using celebrity portraits without the authorization of the stars
"to increase popularity" and "draw traffic" will constitute infringement
Recently,
well-known actors and directors Jia Ling
successfully sued a black coffee manufacturer and
received 100,000 yuan in compensation.
Various brands claiming to be "Jia Ling's brand" infringe on Jia Ling's portrait rights
Use infringing boxing photos on black coffee
Jia Ling sued for a claim of 300,000
In February 2024, the movie "Hot and Spicy" directed and starring Jia Ling " was released in mainland China. Her inspirational weight loss story in the movie inspired many beauty lovers. Subsequently, a group of merchants under the banner of "Jia Ling's Same Style" used Jia Ling's image for advertising without her consent.
In "Hot and Spicy", Jia Ling's inspirational spirit of losing 100 pounds infected many viewers.
Jia Ling complained that in April 2024, she discovered that Anhui XX Health Industry Development Co., Ltd. printed her portrait on the packaging of "Ms. Jia Black Coffee" produced by the company without consent. " The defendant misled the public and created the false impression that the plaintiff was endorsing him for profit. The plaintiff, as a well-known entertainer, has a certain commercial value in her portrait."
Jia Ling said that the defendant used the value of her portrait to attract users to spend money. In order to obtain commercial benefits, it is premised on damaging her licensing rights and damaging her portrait rights. This behavior of has seriously violated her legitimate rights and interests.
Accordingly, Jia Ling filed a lawsuit in court, requiring Anhui Health Industry Development Co., Ltd. to stop infringement (including but not limited to deleting relevant promotional pages, destroying infringing materials, etc.); to publish an apology in the newspaper; and to compensate for economic losses and reasonable rights protection costs. A total of 300,000 yuan.
Court: Stop infringement
Compensate for 100,000 yuan in economic losses
Anhui Health Industry Development Co., Ltd. argued that it disagreed with Jia Ling’s lawsuit request because her company only produced 5,000 boxes, which were packaging boxes provided by a business company in Xiamen , "At that time, our company did not see that it was Jia Ling during the review."
The court found that Anhui Health Industry Development Co., Ltd. was a manufacturer of "Ms. Jia im black coffee", and the "Ms. Jia tm" it produced The outer packaging of "Black Coffee" has a cartoon image of Jia Ling boxing scene printed in a prominent position. The "Ms. JiaTM Black Coffee" is sold on all major e-commerce platforms.
The court held that a portrait is the reproduction of a natural person's appearance on a material carrier. The connotation of a portrait emphasizes the recognizability of a natural person's facial image. As for the material carrier and means of portrait reproduction, it does not affect the natural person's facial image that exists in a certain form. Belongs to the category of portrait. As long as the cartoon reflects a recognizable image of a natural person, the cartoon image can fall under the category of portrait concept and thus become the object of protection of portrait rights under my country's laws.
Natural persons enjoy the right of portrait, and the portrait of the holder of the portrait right may not be produced, used, or disclosed without the consent of the holder of the portrait right. In this case, the defendant company used a cartoon image of Jia Ling's boxing scene on the outer packaging of its "Ms. Jia TM Black Coffee", which can reflect the identifiable image of Jia Ling. This use was made without Jia Ling's consent. , infringing Jia Ling’s portrait rights.
The court held that as a well-known actor and director in my country, Jia Ling’s portrait has certain commercial value. The defendant’s infringement of her portrait rights will inevitably lead to the damage to the economic interests contained in her portrait rights, and at the same time, it will easily cause the public to have conflicts between the plaintiff and the plaintiff. The goods produced by the defendant are related to the brand endorsement relationship. Since both parties failed to provide evidence to prove the actual losses suffered by the infringement or the benefits obtained by the defendant due to the infringement involved, the court took into account factors such as the commercial value of the plaintiff’s brand endorsement, the cost of rights protection, the defendant’s degree of fault, purpose, method, duration, and ability to compensate. , determined that the defendant should compensate the defendant for economic losses of 100,000 yuan..
Accordingly, the Qiaocheng District Court ruled that Anhui XX Health Industry Development Co., Ltd. should stop infringement, not reproduce products that infringe on Jia Ling's portrait rights, publicly apologize to Jia Ling, and compensate Jia Ling for economic losses of 100,000 yuan.
In response, netizens expressed their support:
supports Jia Ling’s rights protection!
Merchants are taking advantage of the popularity to sell products
Citizens should not be deceived
It is understood that after the movie "Hot and Spicy" hit the theaters, many merchants took advantage of the popularity on product packaging and used Jia Ling's character in "" on some products. The classic pose of holding up the boxing gloves in "Hot and Furious" was cartoonized and used as a promotional advertisement. The reporter's search found that there are still many such situations on e-commerce platforms.
In April this year, Beijing Dawan Entertainment Culture Media Co., Ltd. issued a statement stating that it was discovered that unscrupulous merchants were using the image of the artist Jia Ling without permission, falsely claiming that the artist endorsed or cooperated with their brands or products, misleading the public It is believed that there is a cooperative relationship between the brand or product and the artist. In response to the above situation, the company solemnly declares: Any endorsement and cooperation by that is not announced through official channels is false information, and the company has entrusted a lawyer to protect its rights in accordance with the law. Consumers are advised to be careful and avoid being deceived.
On April 16 this year, the official Weibo account of the movie "Hot and Spicy" posted a number of anti-counterfeiting pictures, including Jia Ling's "Hot and Spicy" short sleeves, Jia Ling's same slimming black coffee and other products. The film company claimed that director Jia Ling and the movie "Hot and Spicy" have never endorsed or authorized any fat-reducing or sugar-free drinks, food, medicines, cards, beauty and body care institutions, etc., and reminded netizens not to be deceived.
Source: Guangzhou Daily compiled from Anhui Commercial Daily, Xiaoxiang Morning News
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