Rihanna 1, Topshop 0: Singer wins t-shirt image legal battle against Arcadia
The pop singer Rihanna has won a legal battle against high-street fashion favourite Topshop over a t-shirt.
The Court of Appeal in London has upheld a previous ruling that the Arcadia retailer used an image of the singer on a top without her permission.
While a celebrity's image can’t be trademarked, judges ruled that some people would think the star was connected with the product and that this was damaging to her reputation, under a law known as “passing off”. Rhianna has a number of contracts with fashion houses and high street names including River Island.
Topshop’s appeal seeking to overturn the ruling was dismissed unanimously by three judges. It had argued the item of clothing was similar to other merchandise featuring stars such as Elvis and Jimi Hendrix.
The fashion chain was ordered to pay damages following the original ruling made in 2013 after Rihanna sued the retailer owned by Philip Green for $5M (£3.3M).