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A lawsuit filed in California by Dua Lipa against Samsung Electronics has opened a big conversation up, about how image rights work in advertising and entertainment.

Reuters reported that Dua Lipa wants at least $15 million in damages after Samsung allegedly used her image on television packaging without permission. The lawsuit says the image featured on cardboard boxes used for retail television sales and created the impression that she endorsed the products.

Reuters reported that the image was titled 鈥淒ua Lipa 鈥� Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024鈥�. The lawsuit says she owns full rights to the image. Her legal team attached social media posts to the filing, including one comment from a fan saying they would buy the television because the artist鈥檚 face is on it.

Samsung denied intentional misuse of the image. Reuters reported that the company said the material came from a third party handling content for Samsung鈥檚 free streaming service.

Samsung said, 鈥淭he image was used only after receiving explicit assurance from the content partner that permission had been secured, including for the retail boxes.鈥� The company also said, 鈥淲e have actively sought and remain open to a constructive resolution with Ms. Lipa鈥檚 team.鈥�

Reuters also reported that Dua Lipa鈥檚 lawyers said Samsung continued using the image after being asked to stop in June last year. Her legal team said the alleged unauthorised use damaged her brand and what they refer to as 鈥渃ommercial goodwill鈥� because consumers could believe she approved of the televisions.

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What Does The Case Reveal About Rights Management Systems?

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Benjamin Woollams, founder and chief executive of TrueRights, believes the dispute exposes serious weaknesses in the way intellectual property permissions move between agencies, talent representatives and global brands.

Woollams said, 鈥淭he Dua Lipa v Samsung case highlights why the industry urgently needs better infrastructure for rights management, particularly around monitoring IP usage and facilitation of licensing deals.

鈥淎ccording to public statements, Samsung says it relied on assurances from a third-party content partner that permission had been secured, while the lawsuit alleges that those permissions were not granted Whatever the outcome of the case,, the fact that two global brands can end up this far apart on a basic question 鈥� was this image cleared for this use? 鈥� tells you everything about the state of rights management today.鈥�

He believes the problem begins with outdated systems built around emails, PDF files and verbal agreements moving between many businesses and contractors.

Woollams said, 鈥淭his is fundamentally a chain-of-custody problem. Licensing still runs on PDFs, email assurances and verbal hand-offs between agencies, content partners, brands and talent. When something goes wrong four steps down the chain, there鈥檚 no shared audit trail to fall back on.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 bad for talent, who lose control of their likeness, but it鈥檚 also bad for brands like Samsung, who can end up exposed to multi-million-dollar liability based on assurances they had no real way to verify.鈥�

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That explanation helps explain why celebrity image disputes continue appearing in courtrooms. A photograph can move between photographers, agencies, advertising departments, streaming services or packaging suppliers before actually getting to consumers. One missing licence or expired agreement can create legal trouble for every business involved.

Reuters also reported that Dua Lipa鈥檚 legal team used customer comments from social media to support their case. The filing argued that the image encouraged purchases because consumers believed she approved of the televisions.

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What Kind Of Intellectual Property System Do Companies Now Need?

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Woollams believes lawsuits arriving after publication cannot solve the deeper problem facing entertainment and advertising businesses.

He said, 鈥淲e expect to see significantly more cases like this. Talent is increasingly aware of just how valuable 鈥� and how exposed 鈥� their name, image and likeness really is, and they鈥檙e no longer willing to absorb the cost of a system that fails them. The answer can鈥檛 just be litigation after the fact; it has to be infrastructure that works for everyone in the chain.鈥�

He also said, 鈥淭he long-term answer is infrastructure that enables traceable licensing, standardised usage terms and verifiable provenance across the entire rights chain, giving talent, agencies, content partners and brands a clearer and protected shared record of permissions and usage rights.鈥�

That vision would involve digital systems recording every approval, every licence agreement and every authorised use of an image.

Businesses already use advanced tracking systems for financial records and manufacturing supply chains. Woollams believes image licensing now requires the same treatment.

The Samsung dispute also demonstrates how celebrity recognition influences retail marketing. Reuters reported that Dua Lipa鈥檚 lawyers used online customer comments as evidence that the image encouraged television sales.

Courts will decide the legal outcome of this dispute. Entertainment companies, advertising agencies and global brands now face growing demands for licensing systems that can prove permissions quickly and accurately whenever disputes arrive.