Rihanna has hired top law firm Reed Smith to sue British fashion retailer Topshop for using her face on T-shirts without her consent. Although Rihanna’s team asked Topshop several times to stop selling these shirts, Topshop declined saying they “don’t care” and “do what we want”.
Topshop buys pictures from a photographer and doesn’t pay artist licensing fees. This works out since UK law doesn’t protect the artist. Hence, Topshop does not sell Rihanna tees in their US stores as they would get in legal trouble.
Although British law doesn’t make it easy for Rihanna, “she has decided to move forward and sue Topshop. She has spent almost $1 million in litigation at this point. She says it’s the principle, and wants to make a statement about it. They are taking advantage of artists. It is just exploitation. What they are doing is wrong.”
