Trends In Reputation Management Claims In The Irish Courts

RDJ recently acted for renowned international Qatari businessperson, Wissam Al Mana, in achieving a significant settlement arising out of High Court proceedings initiated in February 2020. The proceedings sought an injunction against Meta Platforms Ireland to prevent the future misuse of Mr Al Mana's image in advertisements, particularly those linking him to financial products or trading services. The action also sought damages for defamation, malicious falsehood, data rights infringement, personality rights appropriation, and passing off.

As a result of the proceedings, Meta issued an apology, which was read aloud in Court by Counsel for Meta, and there was a confidential settlement in favour of Mr Al Mana. Meta committed in their apology to the implementation of robust measures to prevent and tackle such incidents in future and recognised Mr Al Mana's firm stance on never permitting his name or image to be used in future adverts.