Intellectual Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Intellectual Property - Essay ExampleIt was argued that Topshop had infringed the rights of Rihanna and that consumers were misled into thinking that she had endorsed the employment of her break down on the T-shirt, and this might have led to enhanced commercial sales and consumer confusion, which in turn had shamed her reputation. This is because Topshops action may have represented a loss of control of Rihanna in the counterfeit industry.3 As a result, Rihanna filed a suit against Topshop for manufacturing and retailing T-shirts bearing her photograph without her authorisation.The judge hearing the character ruled in favour of Rihanna. In the United Kingdom, there is no personality right that prevents partial exploitation, in cases where a party evokes a celebritys image.4 Therefore, in the United Kingdom, there is no general right that famous people or any person can enjoy and use to control the reproduction of their images.The law of passing off is used by celebrities to p rotect their image. However, they have to signal that they have goodwill in their image. They also have to show that there has been a misrepresentation, leading to world deception. This was ruled out by Mr Justice Birss who said that consumers of this era have full awareness that melody artists take part in merchandising and endorsement in fashion apparel. According to Mr Justice Birss, consumers may not want to grease ones palms products which have been authorised by artists, but they will rather purchase products with pictures on them because they love the look of it.5One of the key factors that persuaded Mr Justice Birss to pass a ruling in favour of Rihanna was that Topshop, the fashion retailer, had engaged in promotional efforts involving Rihanna. For instance, there was a competition, in which the entrants could win a personal shopping appointment with Rihanna in 2010.6 Also, Topshop sold the T-shirt two weeks after there had been