Dua Lipa has filed a $15 million federal lawsuit in California against Samsung, accusing the South Korean electronics giant of using her image on television packaging without her authorization.<\/p>\n
The pop star\u2019s lawyers accused Samsung of infringing her copyright and trademark rights, as well as violating her \u201cright of publicity,\u201d according to a lawsuit filed on Friday in U.S. District Court for Central California.<\/p>\n
The singer is seeking over $15 million in damages. The court submissions included photos of a cardboard box featuring an image of a widescreen Samsung television that appeared to show a section of Ms. Lipa\u2019s face displayed on the screen.<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, that image \u2014 a photograph taken backstage at a music festival in Austin in 2024 \u2014 is owned by Ms. Lipa. Her lawyers said Samsung has used it without her permission on the packaging for a \u201csignificant portion\u201d of the televisions it has sold in the United States since last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Lipa did not allow and would not have allowed this use,\u201d the filing said. <\/p>\n
Ms. Lipa\u2019s lawyers argued that revenue generated by Samsung from those sales was \u201cinextricably tied to the false message conveyed to consumers that Ms. Lipa has endorsed the Infringing Products when she has not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked to respond to the lawsuit, Samsung declined to comment, citing pending litigation.<\/p>\n
Ms. Lipa\u2019s lawyers said that for nearly a year, Samsung had rebuffed her repeated demands that the company stop using her image on the boxes. <\/p>\n
As part of the court filing, Ms. Lipa\u2019s lawyers shared social media posts that they said showed that Samsung\u2019s use of Ms. Lipa\u2019s image on television boxes had \u201cinduced potential customers to buy them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t even planning on buying a tv but I saw the box so I decided to get it,\u201d read one of the cited social media posts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d get that tv just because Dua is on it. That\u2019s how obsessed I am,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n
In addition to damages, Ms. Lipa\u2019s legal team has asked for Samsung to be permanently barred from using the image without her permission.<\/p>\n
Lawyers and representatives for Ms. Lipa did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n