Dua Lipa has filed a £11 million lawsuit against Samsung, accusing the electronics manufacturer of using her image on cardboard television boxes as part of a marketing push without her consent. According to the source report, the 30-year-old singer discovered the unauthorized use only after the products were already on sale, and claims Samsung responded dismissively when she demanded the image be removed.

The photograph from Austin City Limits 2024 and copyright claims

The image in question was taken backstage during Lipa's appearance at the Austin City Limits Festival in 2024, as the source reports. Lipa asserts she owns the copyright to the photograph and did not authorize Samsung to use it commercially.. The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges copyright infringement, trademark violations, and breaches of state publicity laws—jurisdictions traditionally known for strong protections of celebrity likenesses.

Samsung's third-party defense and the assurance claim

Samsung's response, according to the source, shifts responsibility to an intermediary. A Samsung spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the image was used in 2025 to reflect content available through Samsung TV Plus, a free streaming service, and that the company received "explicit assurance" from a content partner that permission had been secured for both the image and retail packaging. The tech giant stated it "denies any allegations of intentional misuse" and emphasized its respect for artists' intellectual property.

This defense hinges on a critical factual claim: whether Samsung genuinely obtained written permission from the content partner, and whether that partner had authority to grant rights to Lipa's likeness. The source does not indicate whether Samsung has produced documentation of this assurance or named the third-party partner involved.

Fan testimonials as evidence of commercial benefit

Lipa's legal team has bolstered the complaint with social media posts from customers who claim they purchased Samsung televisions because they believed the singer had endorsed the product. As the source reports, one X user wrote: "I wasn't even planning on buying a TV but I saw the box so I decided to get it." Another stated: "I'd get that TV just because Dua Lipa is on it." Her lawyers argue these comments prove Samsung benefited from the false impression of an official partnership.

This strategy—using consumer testimony to demonstrate damages—is common in right-of-publicity cases, but it also raises an open question: how representative are these posts of actual purchasing behavior, and did Samsung track sales uplift correlated with the image's appearance on packaging?

Lipa's carefully curated brand and selective endorsement strategy

The complaint emphasizes that Lipa has cultivated a "premium brand" and is "highly selective" about endorsements and partnerships, according to the source. The singer has secured lucrative fashion and beauty campaigns alongside her music career and regularly appears at high-profile events such as the Cannes Film Festival, where she attended the Paper Tiger party last week during her current south-of-France vacation. This framing—that unauthorized use damages a meticulously managed public image—is central to her legal argument that Samsung's conduct caused harm beyond mere copyright infringement.

The lawsuit was filed in California, where celebrity publicity rights are among the strongest in the United States , giving Lipa a favorable legal venue for this type of claim.