Global pop superstar Dua Lipa has initiated a high-profile trademark and publicity rights lawsuit against South Korean tech giant Samsung, accusing the company of improperly utilizing her copyrighted photograph to boost television sales across the United States. The legal complaint was formally filed by Lipa’s legal team on Friday in a California federal court, centering on allegations that Samsung engaged in widespread, ongoing unauthorized commercial use of the singer’s iconic image and likeness on the cardboard packaging of its HD TV models.
According to court documents, the disputed image — captioned “Dua Lipa – Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024” — is officially registered with the United States Copyright Office and is owned outright by Lipa. A photograph included in the filing shows a Samsung retail TV box with a display screen featuring multiple promotional images, with the largest frame highlighting a partial shot of Lipa’s face.
The lawsuit highlights that Lipa maintains a highly curated, premium brand through carefully selected high-end endorsement partnerships. Her existing commercial collaborations include global ambassador roles for Puma, major advertising campaigns with luxury fashion houses Versace and Yves Saint Laurent, and partnerships with leading brands including Porsche, Apple, Chanel, Nespresso, Bvlgari and Tiffany & Co. Court papers emphasize that consistent with her deliberate brand strategy, Lipa would never have authorized the use of her name, image or likeness to promote Samsung’s infringing TV products.
Lipa’s legal team has outlined eight separate civil claims in the complaint, including violations of the right of publicity, direct copyright infringement, and allegations of false endorsement. The legal action seeks a permanent court injunction barring Samsung from continuing to use Lipa’s image, as well as a minimum of $15 million in combined compensatory and punitive damages.
In response to the lawsuit, Samsung issued a formal statement pushing back on direct responsibility, noting that the pop star’s image was supplied to the company by an external third-party content partner for its ad-supported free streaming platform, Samsung TV Plus. The company asserted that it only used the image after receiving explicit written guarantees from the content partner that all necessary usage permissions, including for retail packaging, had been properly secured. Samsung added that it has actively pursued negotiations to resolve the dispute and remains open to reaching a constructive agreement with Lipa’s representation team.