Rita Ora takes clothing company to court over image rights dispute

http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/

So – Rita Ora has fallen out with the company with which she reportedly had an ‘agreement’ – presumably a product endorsement agreement in respect of the Superga clothing range reported here.  The point is not so much that she had an agreement (and there’s no indication of the terms therein),  but rather the fact that her image rights – such as they are – are limited to the terms of that agreement.  “Image Rights do not exist in English law”, to paraphrase Mr. Justice Birss’ apt reminder last year in the Rihanna v Topshop spat.

According to the report, “Rita Ora has also asked for an injunction to be put in place, to stop the company from selling goods linked to her”.  That’s all well and good, but her ability to bring an injunction may rest entirely on the validity of that agreement.   Of course, had she registered her personality* she would be in the enviable position of having genuine rights over how her image was used – whether for product endorsement or any other purpose.

*See www.icondia.com for more information on the registration of personality and statutory image rights.