Rihanna wins legal dispute

Rihanna has won her long-running dispute with high street retailer Topshop, which had been selling a tank top emblazoned with an image of the pop superstar without asking her permission.

Three judges at the Court of Appeal have agreed with an earlier High Court ruling that selling the top could deceive some shoppers into thinking that Rihanna endorsed the item of clothing.

Generally speaking, celebrities in the UK have no legal right to control how their image is used. However, if a product is marketed in a way that could suggest the celebrity endorsed it, this can amount to "passing off", a legal term for an unauthorised use of a trademark or image rights.

The dispute with Topshop dates back to 2013, when Rihanna won her case in the High Court, and Topshop was ordered to stop selling clothing featuring the star's image.

Rihanna's legal team argued that the specific image on the tank top in question was from an unauthorised photo taken in 2011 when she was filming the music video for "We Found Love" in Northern Ireland.

The judge also considered the fact that the singer had a collaboration with other brands at the time, such as rival retailer River Island, and telecoms provider TalkTalk. Hence, it could be damaging for Topshop to give the impression she was endorsing the brand.

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Bolton Litigation Solicitors