The Bajan singer, a proud global representative of the Caribbean entertainment scene, has won a $5 million lawsuit against the fellow powerhouse that is Topshop. The British company has stores around the world and is associated with superstars such as Kate Moss, who designed for them for several years.
Although Rihanna’s many fans around the world – from teens listening to her music in their bedrooms to longstanding fashion-world figures such as Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour – have long recognized her status as a true fashion icon, a British justice, Colin Birss, has now ruled that Rihanna is a style icon in the eyes of the law, too. This distinction was key in Rihanna and her team winning this case and may continue to be important as Robyn Fenty continues to build her global empire.
Rihanna v. Arcadia
This lawsuit by Rihanna and her team against Arcadia, Topshop’s parent company, may well be a landmark in image rights by celebrities. The landscape is changing fast and being able to grasp the legal subtleties is increasingly important in the growing world of celebrity image management and licensing and marketing strategy. Personality and image rights legislation is at the heart of what Jay-Z does with his RocNation company, which manages Rihanna. The lawsuit was brought because Topshop sold a sleeveless shirt made by the company Knitmania, with Rihanna’s image on the front. Topshop had cleared rights with the photographer who shot the image but not with Rihanna herself. It had successfully sold other T-shirts with photographs of famous people such as Tinie Tempah and Prince on the front via this sort of image clearance. Rihanna sued on the basis that buyers would think she had given the shirt her blessing, and the justice had to decide why people bought the shirt:
Was it just because they liked the T-shirt, or was it because they thought the product was designed in collaboration with Rihanna, as with Topshop’s clothes by Kate Moss? Further complicating the case is the fact that Rihanna has designed a collection with another British brand, River Island.
The lawsuit might have been framed differently in the United States, where there is a general understanding that a famous person has the right to his or her own image. This does not exist in the UK.
Styling Rihanna
In addition to her music career, Rihanna is someone with heavy ties to the fashion world. Her endorsements help Gucci, Nike, Armani, and River Island sell clothes. This is what the justice decided was relevant to the case against Topshop. Topshop had previously Tweeted that Rihanna was shopping at its biggest store in London and had publicized a competition that offered a shopping trip with Rihanna as a prize. The justice considered that, partially because of these past attempts to try to establish links with Rihanna, Topshop could be seen as trying to sell the T-shirt based on an endorsement from Rihanna that did not exist.
Talk That Talk
Another factor is that the photo was taken on the set of a shoot in Northern Ireland for Rihanna’s single “We Found Love”, from her 2011 “Talk That Talk” album. This shoot has become notorious because at one of the locations used, Alan Graham, the Christian farmer whose land was used as a backdrop, evicted the crew from his land after seeing Rihanna take off her top and bra and dance topless in his field. Justice Birss felt that many of Rihanna’s fans would be able to recognize the image from album and single promotion, which would be even more reason for them to believe that Rihanna had endorsed the T-shirt.
In Justice Birss’s words”
“The mere sale by a trader of a T-shirt bearing an image of a famous person is not, without more, an act of passing off. However, the sale of this image of this person on this garment by this shop in these circumstances is a different matter. I find that Topshop’s sale of this Rihanna T-shirt without her approval was an act of passing off.”
What happens now?
Although Rihanna asked for $5 million, the justice did not specify how much Topshop would have to give Rihanna. Also, Topshop may appeal, so nobody is sure if the case is truly over. But, for now, Rihanna is the victor!
