Ever wondered how much your face card was worth? Well, for Dua Lipa, it’s about $15 million USD (give or take).
Over the past week, headlines of Dua Lipa suing Samsung in California for that very amount has flooded our feeds.
According to Dua’s complaint, Samsung used an image of her on their cardboard TV packaging without her permission, and then proceeded to ignore her requests to stop.
Samsung has since released a statement to deny these allegations.
For your average Dua Lipa fan, this case is inherently intriguing. However, what’s more interesting is how Dua Lipa’s latest litigation is just one of many celebrity lawsuits aimed at protecting the image, brand, and identity of celebrities in the age of AI.
Jahan Kalantar, the Managing Partner of Executive Law Group, and Sarah Hook, a Senior Lecturer at UTS’ School of Law, spoke to WHO about the lawsuit and broke down the likelihood of Dua winning, as well as whether the recent influx of celebrity cases against AI will actually stick.
Why is Dua Lipa suing Samsung?
On Friday, May 8, Dua’s lawyers filed a lawsuit with claims Samsung used her image without her knowledge or approval, and when she demanded Samsung stop it immediately, the complaint alleges she was met with a “dismissive and callous” response.
Now, Dua has gathered evidence proving that her face on the TV packaging has been used to encourage people to buy the Sumsung TVs, and is therefore suing Samsung for multiple violations, including copyright infringement, publicity rights, false endorsement, trademark infringement.
Hence the $15 million lawsuit.
How strong is Dua Lipa’s case?
Speaking to WHO about the case, Hook said Dua has a “good claim to copyright infringement” since she “owns the copyright.”
Kalantar also summarised that Dua’s argument looks to be “a little bit clearer” than other recent celebrity lawsuits relating to image rights violations.
“It sounds like she’s got a darn strong case,” Kalantar told WHO. “She’s got: I own the image. I didn’t allow you to use the image. You’ve used the image on a number of products and my image is valuable. And, I told you to stop and you chose not to. That’s pretty strong.”
However, Samsung released a statement on Wednesday, May 13, denying Dua’s allegations and claiming that rights for the image were secured.
“Ms Lipa’s image was used in 2025 to reflect the content of our third-party partners that are available on Samsung TVs and was originally provided by a content partner for our free streaming service Samsung TV Plus,” the statement clarified. “The image was used only after receiving explicit assurance from the content partner that permission had been secured, including for the retail boxes. Given this assurance, we deny any allegations of intentional misuse.
“Samsung has great respect for Ms Lipa and the intellectual property of all artists. We have actively sought and remain open to a constructive resolution with Ms Lipa’s team.”
While Hook and Kalantar are confident in the strength of Dua’s case, we’ll just have to wait patiently to see how it all unfolds.
Celebrity lawsuits over image rights have increased
Dua’s lawsuit against Samsung is just one of many recent cases of celebrities trying to protect and own their image in this current climate of AI and deepfake culture.
“I think that there’s been an enormous increase in the number of cases where essentially celebrities are filing suit, saying, you’re using my image in an inappropriate way,” Kalantar told WHO. “You’re using AI. You’re modifying. And you’re taking advantage of my image and my likeness, because my likeness has a value attached to it, which makes sense, right?”
Hook seconded this opinion, discussing how “academics and lawyers are really interested in this idea of image rights because of AI”, referencing recent cases like Taylor Swift or Matthew McConaughey registering to trademark their voice, image, and likeness to protect it from AI misuse.
Despite cases like Taylor Swift’s not being as clear cut as Dua’s, Hook explained that lawyers are still trying to “throw everything” at this growing concern over celebrity image rights in an age of AI, hoping to “stem the flow” of Hollywood’s excitement over “the idea that they don’t have to pay celebrities anymore.”
“It’s hilarious that it’s celebrities that are kind of trying to be the ones that push back on all of that [lack of] privacy,” Hook joked.
No matter the irony, celebrities are leading the pack when it comes to protecting our image in the age of AI, and cases like Taylor Swift’s, Matthew McConaughey’s, and even Dua Lipa’s will have flow on effects to us; the not-at-all famous, ordinary public.
How will cases like this impact us?
According to Kalantar, Dua’s lawsuit against Samsung is relevant to us.
“I think that cases like this are really interesting because they will filter down to questions like, ‘what about you and I?'” Kalantar said. “What if your photo is taken as an ad for something that gets pushed to your friends, right?”
“I think that we’re entering a world now where it’s very wise of Dua to take this step. You can’t let people be flippant and flagrant with your image, because your image is very valuable.”
So, while we may not be celebrities with a face worth (literally) millions of dollars, it doesn’t mean we’re immune to the threat of someone taking our face and using it in an ad… or something worse.
Bottom line? These days, your image may just be your most valuable intellectual property.
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