The Amsterdam District Court found in favour of Max Verstappen
in the action on the merits against Picnic. Picnic had used a
lookalike for Max in a humorous prod at a TV commercial for Jumbo.
Picnic thus breached Max's portrait right, according to the
court. Verstappen's earlier application for an attachment order
had been
dismissed. The judge was doubtful at
that
point whether Max had indeed been
portrayed.
Picnic's jibe was a clear parody and
the public could
easily see that the real Max
did not figure in its video
clip. Not the real
Max, so no portrait (or portrait right),
according to the judge. This appeared to open the door to the use
of lookalikes in advertising, without permission from "the
original". The judge's reasoning was curious and wrong. By
definition, a portrait is not a person himself, but a means for
evoking the image of that person. But the court has now resolutely
closed the door on the frivolous use of lookalikes in
advertisements: there was a
