Rihanna Wins $5 Million Legal Battle Against High Street Chain Topshop

Rihanna has won a two-year multi-million pound legal battle with Topshop after they unlawfully used her image on a popular T-shirt sold to thousands of fans. The pop star sued Topshop's parent company Arcadia for £3.3million ($5.5million) over the clothing, which featured a photo taken during a video shoot for her hit 'We Found Love' in 2011.

In 2013, the courts banned the store selling a Rihanna 'tank' sleeveless T-shirt without her permission, but the fashion chain then tried to overturn the initial ruling.

Today the Court of Appeal upheld the ban agreeing that marketing the clothing  without the 26-year-old singer's approval amounts to 'passing off,' a term used to enforce unregistered trademark rights. It also found the image was similar to the one used on her 2011 Talk that Talk album and fans could be misled.

Lord Justice David Kitchin said: 'People could be deceived into buying the t-shirt perhaps believing it was authorised by Rihanna. Topshop sold the t-shirt without Rihanna's approval and this amounted to passing off. In the present case I am entirely satisfied that the judge did have a proper regard to the distinction between endorsement and general character merchandising.

'The judge considered the use of this image would in all the circumstances of the case, indicate that the t-shirt had been authorised and approved by Rihanna, many of her fans regard her endorsement as important for she is their style icon, and would buy the t-shirt thinking she had approved an authorised it.

'In short the judge found that the sale of the t-shirt bearing this image amounted to a representation that Rihanna had endorsed it. In my judgement the reasoning of the judge discloses no error of principle.'

Source: DailyMail