Dubai: British pop star Dua Lipa has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics seeking at least $15 million in damages, accusing the South Korean tech giant of using the singer’s image without permission to market its television sets.

The lawsuit alleges that Samsung featured a copyrighted image of the pop star on the front of cardboard boxes containing televisions for retail sale, enabling the company to benefit from what appeared to be her endorsement of the product.

The image alleged to have been used on the TV boxes is titled “Dua Lipa – Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024,” and Lipa owns all rights, title, and interest in the image, the lawsuit said. The suit was filed on Friday in a California federal court.

A spokesperson for Samsung Electronics declined to comment, saying the company could not comment on pending litigation. Dua Lipa’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to copyright and trademark infringement, Dua Lipa has accused Samsung of breaching publicity rights.

Lipa’s lawyers included screenshots of social media posts in the filing, claiming that the use of her image on the packaging influenced purchasing decisions. One post showed a fan saying they would buy the television “just because Dua is on it.”

According to the filing, the singer became aware of the alleged infringement in June last year and asked Samsung to stop using the image, but the company repeatedly refused.

The alleged unauthorised use has “caused and continues to cause dilution” of the singer’s brand identity and commercial goodwill by falsely suggesting endorsement of the products, the lawsuit said.

Dua Lipa sues Samsung over image use in TV marketing