Dua Lipa sues Samsung over unauthorized TV box photo use

Dua Lipa is accusing Samsung Electronics of turning her face into retail packaging without permission, saying the company printed a backstage photograph of the singer on cardboard TV boxes sold in stores and tied the image to Samsung TV Plus and the Xite Hits channel. Her lawsuit, filed Friday, May 8, 2026, in California district court, seeks at least $15 million and says fans first drew attention to the boxes on social media in June 2025, when posts about a “Dua Lipa TV Box” began circulating.

The complaint says the photo was taken backstage at the 2024 Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas, and later used on the front of Samsung television packaging. Lipa’s legal team says Samsung kept using the image even after repeated cease-and-desist demands, responding in what the filing describes as a “dismissive and callous” way. Samsung had not publicly responded in the reporting available.

The case matters because a TV box is not just a shipping container. It is a commercial display that sits on retail shelves, meets shoppers at the point of sale and can make a product look formally associated with the celebrity pictured on it. That is why the complaint reaches beyond a simple photo dispute and alleges copyright infringement, trademark infringement, violation of California’s right of publicity and a false-endorsement claim under the Lanham Act. Lipa’s filing says she has worked with brands including Porsche, Apple, Chanel and Tiffany & Co., but never authorized a promotional deal with Samsung.

The legal theories in the case show the difference between copyright, licensing and publicity rights. Copyright protects the photograph itself, meaning the person or company that owns the image controls reproduction and distribution unless it is licensed. Licensing is the permission that allows a brand to use that photo in a defined way, for a defined period and in a defined market. Publicity rights are different: California Civil Code Section 3344 generally bars unauthorized commercial use of a person’s name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness. The Lanham Act adds another layer by targeting uses likely to confuse consumers about sponsorship or approval.

For brands running global campaigns, that distinction is increasingly expensive to ignore. A celebrity image on packaging can cross borders, move through online marketplaces and reach consumers long after a campaign is launched. If a shopper sees Lipa’s face on a Samsung box, the complaint argues, the message is not just decorative. It is a claim of association, and that claim can carry legal and commercial consequences well beyond this dispute.