Rihanna And Her Image

It's been well reported that the singer Rihanna has sued the UK retail chain Topshop for US$5 million in damages for the unauthorised use of her image on a t-shirt. Rihanna is apparently suing  for passing-off, the argument being that people seeing the t-shirt are likely to assume that she has endorsed the brand.  This may have got you wondering what the law is in South Africa on the issue of unauthorised endorsement.

The celebrity whose photo is used without permission in order to promote a brand may possibly be able to claim copyright infringement.  A photo does, of course, enjoy copyright, and it is an infringement of copyright to make unauthorised copies of the photo, or to sell articles that feature unauthorised copies of the photo. If there is an infringement, the owner of the copyright is entitled to an interdict (a court order preventing the activity), as well as damages. But copyright infringement proceedings will only be an option where the celebrity actually