Samsung Electronics denied using British pop star Dua Lipa’s portrait image without permission after being served with a $15 million lawsuit, saying rights to use the photo were secured through a content provider.

“The image was used only after receiving explicit assurance from the content partner that permission had been secured, including for the retail boxes,” Samsung said in a statement Tuesday.


Lipa’s legal team filed a copyright and publicity rights lawsuit against Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics America in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Friday.

The suit contends that Samsung has illegally used a photo of Lipa’s face on the exterior packaging of its televisions since last year. Lipa’s legal team claimed the company refused to stop using the image even after the singer's team asked it to.

The photo in question was taken backstage at the Austin City Limits Festival in 2024, and Lipa’s side claimed the singer owns the copyright to the image.

Samsung Electronics claims it began using the image on television packaging sold in the United States in 2025 after a media content partner confirmed that the photo was fair to use on the boxes.

The company added that it immediately halted production of the boxes and replaced the packaging after the singer's representatives objected to the use of the image last July.

"We have actively sought and remain open to a constructive resolution with Ms. Lipa’s team," the company said.

The British singer debuted in 2015 with the single “New Love” (2015) and rose to fame after her first full-length album, “Dua Lipa” (2017) reached No. 3 on the British Albums Chart in 2017. She has won three Grammy Awards.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]