Rihanna Wins Topshop T-Shirt Court Case

The Diamonds singer sued parent company Arcadia Group Brands Ltd for a rumoured £3.5million in damages, after the fashion chain sold an unknown number of T-shirts baring the design in 2011 and 2012.

 

It is thought the photo was taken by a freelance snapper when RiRi was filming the video for 2011 track We Found Love in Northern Ireland, with her attorneys pointing out that it was "very similar" to pictures on her Talk That Talk album.

 

 

They added that this could lead to fans thinking it was "genuine" Rihanna merchandise and feeling 'duped' after learning it was fake.

 

The Mirror previously obtained legal papers regarding the case, which read: "The base image of the first claimant [Rihanna] is of such an unflattering nature that it would not be approved."

 

They went onto claim that the pic - which showed RiRi wearing her hair in a bandana - was "poor" quality, adding that the "low-quality image and product that would not have been authorised by the first claimant".

 

RiRi also accused Topshop of wrongly using her name in the course of trade to appeal to consumers with "an emotional connection to their heroine", with the store insisting that she was making an unjustifiable bid to establish a "free-standing image right" over use of her picture in the UK.

 

 

At a hearing at London's High Court today (July 31), Mr Justice Birss stated that there was "no such thing as a general right by a famous person to control the reproduction of their image".

 

"The taking of the photograph is not suggested to have breached Rihanna's privacy. The mere sale by a trader of a T-shirt bearing an image of a famous person is not an act of passing off."

 

He then concluded: "However, I find that Topshop's sale of this T-shirt was an act of passing off."

 

Despite her win, Rihanna is yet to comment directly on the case.