Rihanna Wins Topshop Unauthorised T Shirt Image Battle

Rihanna has finally won the battle over Topshop; for using her image on their T-shirt unauthorised. Rihanna sued Topshop's parent company Arcadia for $5m (£3.3m) back in 2013 over the T-shirts, which featured a photo taken during a video shoot in 2011.

Telegraph reports that three appeal judges agreed with an earlier High Court ruling that marketing the fashion item without the 26-year-old singer's approval amounts to "passing off", a term used to enforce unregistered trademark rights.

"The court was very keen to stress that there were specific facts that made Rihanna's case stronger than usual," copyright lawyer Paul Joseph told the BBC.

He said the links between the singer and the store, which included tweeted pictures of her wearing Topshop clothes, competitions and publicity appearances - in addition to the fact that the photo was used as publicity for her Talk That Talk album - may have implied an official collaboration.

"These particular factors would make the public think this T-shirt had been authorised by her."

Geoffrey Hobbs QC, appearing for Topshop, argued at the hearing that the court was dealing with a "decorated T-shirt" in a tradition of the merchandising of star images over the decades, including those of Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and Prince.

Mr Hobbs added that Rihanna was in reality using the law wrongly to claim that "only a celebrity may ever market his or her own character".

The judge had observed the use was damaging to the star's "goodwill" and represented loss of control over her reputation in the "fashion sphere".

Topshop lawyers had urged the appeal judges - Lord Justice Richards, Lord Justice Kitchin and Lord Justice Underhill - to rule that High Court judge Mr Justice Birss had misunderstood the law on celebrity merchandising.

The three judges unanimously dismissed the Topshop appeal.

Credits: The Voice / telegraph