Contract Period Ended... Court Orders 30 Million Won Compensation to Company Continuing to Use 'Shin Suji Photos'

MBC 'Radio Star' Shin Suji / Photo by MBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A company that continued to sell products printed with photos of Shin Su-ji, a former national gymnastics representative, even after the advertising model contract expired, was ordered to pay 30 million won in damages.

According to the legal community on the 29th, Judge Lee Jeong-kwon of Civil Division 208 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Shin's former agency, Yama Entertainment, against functional food manufacturer and seller Company A, demanding compensation of about 140 million won, ordering "Company A to pay 30 million won."

The court stated, "The defendant did not receive authorization to use the portrait rights but sold products with Shin's photos attached or printed, thereby unjustly infringing on portrait rights."

However, the court did not accept the claim that Shin's publicity rights were infringed, citing the difficulty in finding grounds for publicity rights under statutory or customary law in Korea.

Publicity rights, first used by Judge Jerome Frank of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1953 Haelan case, refer to the rights that prevent third parties from using the economic value created by a celebrity's personal elements such as name or likeness without permission. While portrait rights are understood as part of the constitutional basic right of personality rights, publicity rights focus more on economic value.

Before signing an exclusive contract with Yama Entertainment, the plaintiff in this lawsuit, Shin Su-ji had signed an advertising model contract with Company A in July 2016 while affiliated with another agency.

Company A paid 100 million won and produced advertisements featuring Shin as the model to be used for one year, with an additional one-month free usage period after the contract expired. The period during which Company A could use advertisements containing Shin's photos was until August 8, 2017.

However, after the contract period ended, Company A continued to use advertisements including Shin's name and photos in violation of the contract terms, leading Yama Entertainment to file a lawsuit in June 2018 claiming "infringement of Shin's portrait and publicity rights" and seeking 144.93 million won in damages.

Shin transferred her portrait rights to Yama Entertainment and did not participate directly as a plaintiff in the trial. Shin's exclusive contract with Yama Entertainment expired in March 2019.

The court found that Company A infringed portrait rights by selling products printed with Shin's photos on an online shopping mall until April 2018, after the model contract period ended, and partially recognized liability for damages.

Company A argued in court that using products manufactured during the model contract period did not constitute portrait rights infringement.

However, the court judged that even if the products were manufactured during the contract period, selling them after the contract period ended constitutes portrait rights infringement.

Nonetheless, the court ruled that Company A was not responsible for the unauthorized continued use by distributors despite Company A's request to stop using Shin's photos.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.