Is it illegal if online shopping malls use photos of celebrities without permission to promote their products?

Surprisingly, the Supreme Court has ruled against a host of lawsuits filed by Korean stars over their publicity rights, saying that this kind of use of celebrity images is legitimate in Korea. Publicity rights refer to exclusive property rights to economic benefits from a person’s portrait and name.

(OSEN)

The top court dismissed Tuesday actress Song Hye-kyo’s suit against six shopping mall operators for using her name and photos to promote their accessories.

The shopping mall owners had posted pictures of Song wearing earrings in SBS’ drama “Winter, The Wind Blows,” which aired in 2013, and sold “Oh Young earrings” named after Song’s character in the soap.

The court rejected Song’s suit on the grounds that she could not prove that she had suffered losses.

Earlier, other celebrities including Miss A’s Suzy and After School‘s Uee also filed similar lawsuits, claiming the violation their publicity rights. All lost their cases.

“In order to protect celebrities’ publicity rights, legislation should come first. When the relevant bill pending in the National Assembly is passed, publicity rights can be completely recognized,” attorney Jeong Chul-seung said.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)