In June 2025, Dua Lipa discovered her photo on cardboard boxes of Samsung televisions being sold in retail stores across America. She demanded that the use of her image be stopped. Samsung refused. On May 9, 2026, a lawsuit for at least $15 million was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
A Photo the Artist Claims as Her Own
The image titled "Dua Lipa – Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024" was taken backstage at the festival before her performance in October 2024. According to the lawsuit, the copyright to the photograph belongs to Lipa herself — not to the festival organizers, not to the photographer under a separate contract, but directly to the artist. Samsung placed the image on the front of television boxes of various sizes and distributed them massively throughout the United States.
The lawsuit contains three separate legal claims: copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and violation of the right of publicity — a provision of California law that protects the commercial value of a person's personal image.
Samsung's Response — and Why It Became a Key Argument
Lipa's lawyers sent Samsung a demand to cease using the image starting in June 2025. The lawsuit characterizes the company's response as "dismissive and callous" — and notes that boxes with the photo are still present on the market. This very detail changes the legal weight of the case: continuing the violation after receiving an official demand moves Samsung's actions into the category of willful infringement, which opens the door to punitive damages exceeding the stated $15 million.
"Samsung manufactured, distributed, and sold a vast quantity of televisions in boxes bearing the DL Image. This constitutes willful copyright and trademark infringement."
From the text of the lawsuit, cited via Rolling Stone
Buyers Convinced by the Box
Unusually, the lawsuit contains social proof — screenshots of user comments on X and Instagram networks, which Lipa's lawyers submitted as evidence of the real commercial effect of using her image. One comment reads: "I wasn't even planning to buy a TV, but I saw the box and decided to get one." Another: "I'll buy it just because Dua is on it." The internet dubbed the product "the Dua Lipa TV Box" — and this phrase now appears in the federal case.
The Price of a Brand
The lawsuit separately emphasizes: Lipa is an artist who carefully selects partners. Among confirmed agreements are Porsche, Apple, Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Bulgari, Nespresso, and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Samsung is not and has never been on this list. It is precisely because of this selectivity that the lawyers argue: the unauthorized use did not merely violate rights — it damaged a strategically built image, replacing premium partners with mass-market electronics without her consent.
- Lawsuit Amount: at least $15 million + punitive damages + court costs
- Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- Filing Date: May 9, 2026
- Box Status: still in stores at the time of filing
The case will have precedent value if the court recognizes social comments as sufficient evidence of commercial harm from unauthorized use of an image — then brands will receive a signal: the viral effect of someone else's face on packaging could cost more than a licensing agreement. If, however, Samsung proves that the photo ended up on the packaging due to a supply chain error rather than an intentional marketing decision — the picture will change fundamentally.
